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Mar 16, 2014

The Will of God in Our Daily Grind

The Will of God in Our Daily Grind

Passage: 1 Thessalonians 5:14-18

Preacher: John Repsold

Series: I Thessalonians--Empowered Expeditions

Detail:

The Will of God in Our Daily Grind

I Thessalonians 5:14-18

March 16, 2014

What’s the purpose in giving gifts to people? Why is Christmas and birthdays and even weddings times when we try to give gifts to people? What does gift-giving DO to relationships? [Wait for answers.]

  • It’s a giving of ourselves.
  • It tends to bond people together
  • It shows people that we value them, have thought of them and have sacrificed something for them.

But not all gifts are of equal value. In fact, some seem to be downright…useless.  What are some of the most unnecessary and useless gifts/items you’ve ever received/bought?

[Now here’s a functional, space-saving device we got for our wedding—a hot-dog cooker…sorry to any of you who think they are an essential kitchen utensil.

Or how about the “electric egg scrambler.” I don’t know how I could possibly do scrambled eggs without this device!]

We’re in a section of Scripture for a few weeks here where God is calling each of us to action, specifically to actions that really become gifts to people around us. From simply urging us to treat spiritual leaders in a respectful and honorable way in the church and to live peacefully with each other, Paul now moves to a section where God is commanding us to give certain gifts to each other—family gifts that come from hearts dominated by Jesus Christ. He’s upping the intensity. These gifts are to be wrapped, not in paper and ribbon, but in the human flesh of brothers and sisters motivated by the heart of Jesus towards each other. Those kinds of gifts are anything but useless!

From talking about how we are to respect the spiritual shepherds over us, Paul turns to how we all are to shepherd each other. Based upon what we are commanded to do, it becomes evident that we are to treat each other according to what the other person needs at the moment. That’s what the love of Christ does: it sizes up the need of a brother or sister at treats them according to what they need, not what you think you need.

Now that doesn’t mean we are to treat each other with kid gloves, just giving everyone what they want. All of us want things that are not good for us. We all desire things that, if given to us, would indulge our weaknesses and keep us from growing, from taking the next step in maturity in Christ. That becomes evident with the very first of five commands in today’s passage.    

I Thess. 5:14—(ESV) And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.

Admonish the idle (5:14a).“Idle” is a word that is also translated “unruly” (NKJV) or “lazy” (NLT). The Greek word here (ataktous) can be a military expression used of a soldier who “breaks rank”, or “gets out of line.” It refers to soldiers who are undisciplined, irresponsible, and idle. For a soldier, that seems like an oxymoron. Undisciplined and idle aren’t terms we normally associate with soldiers…at least soldiers you want defending your homeland or soldiers who really plan to win a battle. Good soldiers are the most fit, physically prepared and hard-working people around. That’s what Christ-followers are to be in every area of our lives, particularly when it comes to taking care of our own needs.

This must have been an ongoing problem in the Thessalonian church because Paul uses the same term twice in his 2nd letter to them, chapter 3. He starts in vs. 6 by admonishing them to “keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.” Paul’s “tradition” was, as we saw earlier, hard work night and day (I Thess. 2:9) so he wasn’t a burden to anyone.

Six verses later in 2 Thess 3:11 he amplifies it with these words: “For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies.” We already talked several weeks ago about the importance of being hard-working in our daily work so that our material needs are taken care of.

APP: Without spending much more time on this today, let me just say that this issue of being hard-working people is becoming a HUGE issue in both our culture and in the ministry context we have chosen to be in here downtown. With 50 million adult Americans unemployed right now, another 37 million retirees on Social Security, another 11 million people collecting full-time disability.

Add to that 112.5 million Americans get some sort of government food assistance (compared to 116 million Americans working full time), 50 million are on food stamps, 13.5 million live in public or subsidized housing…and the list goes on. This January 2014, 5 times as many people left the work force as the number of new jobs that were created (347K vs. 74K). Our employment to population ratio is the lowest it has been in 30 years (58%).

            The challenge is far greater in downtown Spokane than it is in the country at large. A vastly larger percentage of downtown residents don’t have full time jobs…or any jobs…than in the rest of the city. That is why we are praying and looking for a way to develop a business venture with our next move that will teach people how to work, and give them the opportunity to learn some skills that will make them productive employees rather than non-productive government dependants.

            But I can guarantee you, “admonishing the idle” will not be easy nor will it be received well by thousands of people who would rather live off the government than work hard 40-50 hours a week. In fact, I would dare say that apart from God stirring the hearts of people used to not working, admonishing them will have no success at all.

The word translated “admonish” in this passage is a pretty strong Greek word that literally means to “put into the mind” (cf. 5:12). You might say we are to talk some sense into them. It implies a face-to-face confrontation, precisely the kind of situation most of us want to avoid at all costs, either delivering OR receiving.

Admonishing people is often painful, difficult work. It is downright risky…every time… especially when you’re just another fellow believer, not some formal spiritual leader. But the family of God is called to risk rejection with each other in order to gain growth with each other. We’re called to both give admonishment lovingly and receive it humbly.

I’ve found that even in the best of small groups, in the most committed of friendships and relationships, most people prefer to walk away when someone turns up the heat on something that isn’t right. Giving…and receiving…the gift of admonishment isn’t easy, but it is commanded by God.

Now, to balance this command, Paul next introduces a command about encouragement. “Encourage the fainthearted” (5:14b).

The word translated “fainthearted” (oligopsuchos) literally means to be “small-souled.” In the Greek Old Testament (LXX) this word refers to discouragement due to trials. Maybe there were some in the church who were shaken by the persecutions that Christ-followers had to endure (2:14; 3:1-5). Maybe these fainthearted believers were those simply overwhelmed with problems. Maybe they faced trials at home or at work or at school. Maybe they felt the Christian life was just one continual struggle (which it often seems to be).

The reality is that the cause of being fainthearted is not the issue. The fact that someone is should serve as the trigger to do something about it.

ILL: Language school in Costa Rica. It was one of the most discouraging experiences and periods of my life. I felt utterly defeated ever day. The language school we were in had chapel every day. I remember sitting there in that chapel with a hundred other missionaries headed all over the world, feeling like I was the dumbest one among them day after day.

            The director of the school was a man who had experienced a fair amount of brokenness in his own life. And I remember how differently I felt about when he spoke. Most chapel speakers had some challenge, some call to DO something more, greater, harder. I was just hanging on by my fingernails as it was. But whenever this director spoke, I felt like he knew what pain was all about. He ministered grace and encouragement. And I remember telling myself, “I must never forget that there are always some people in any audience who are just hanging on by a thin thread. I must always encourage them in some way, somehow.”

God commands us to “encourage” people who feel like they are about to faint emotionally and spiritually. We are to put courage into them. people. We are to use our words to breathe hope into them. A word of encouragement can make the difference between giving up and going on. We must teach each other truth when our souls seem to get small, truth that the trials of life can help to enlarge their souls and make them stronger in the faith.

APP: Write this down--

  • Who do you know that needs encouragement today? Think of someone. Maybe they are in this church… or another. In your home. In your school or workplace.
  • What will you do? Call them? Invite them to coffee? Send them a note? When?

Then there is a 3rd command: Help the weak (5:14c).

The word “weak” can refer to physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual weakness. This third group of people is a step beyond being fainthearted. They have completely run out of gas. They are the ones who are exhausted, burned out, wrung out, and worn out. They are morally, spiritually, and physically drained. They feel as if they cannot go on.

Then the term “help” has the sense of “to take hold of” or “grab onto.”

Ever gotten to that point physically where you needed someone to grab onto you or you weren’t going to make it? Ever run until you “hit the wall” and your legs literally wouldn’t obey your command to RUN…or walk…or climb? Ever needed someone to rope up with you so you didn’t fall 1,000 feet into a crevasse?

ILL: One of my first backpacking experiences was in the N. Cascades with my sister when I was in college. We had chosen a hike called Cooper Mountain just south of the Canadian border. I picked her up in Seattle and we drove north about 3 hours to the Mt. Baker National Forest east of Bellingham.

To start things out, she sprained her ankle that first afternoon in an avalanche treefall hiking into the trailhead campsite, a place to which we were supposed to have been able to drive. But, alas, avalanches.

            The next day, after a night of unending rain, it dawned sunny and beautiful. So we started climbing with about 50 pounds on our backs what would turn out to be a 5,000 foot elevation gain (a vertical mile) over 10 miles of trail that day. I’ll just say, it was steep!.

            About a half mile from the summit where we were to spend the night at a fire-watch tower, she simply stopped dead (not dead-dead) on the trail in front of me. We’d been trudging the last hour pretty slowly when she simply said, “I can’t make my legs work. They won’t go.” It was my first introduction to “hitting the wall” when your body simply has no more food to consume to make your muscles work.

So I literally pushed her from behind the last quarter mile. She spent the rest of the evening heaving from exhaustion. I spent it watching one of the most memorable sunsets of my life. Yes, that is the actual view from the pit toilet.

…and there is the view from the firewatch tower and the floor where we slept that night.

There are times when we just need to “hang on” to each other in this journey of life. There are times we’re tired beyond belief. It shouldn’t be all the time. If it is, then there is probably something else that needs changing. But we’ll all be at the drop-out point sometime. That’s when God’s people need to step in, step up and take hold of someone. If we’re there, that’s when we need to be humble enough to say we’re weak and worn out.

ILL:  A good friend of mine lost his son in a terrible accident.  I remember asking him about a year after the accident how he was doing and if he was finding it hard to be around church sometimes.  He admitted to plenty of doubts and emptiness but also said that he went to be with God's people because he needed to be around others who were believing/trusting in God when he was having a hard time doing the same.  "I need them to believe for me right now," he said.  That's what this verse is calling us to. 

APP:

  • Can you think of someone who has maybe dropped out of God’s family gatherings….church? God bringing anyone to mind?
  • What will you do about it? How about writing their name down right now and deciding to get in touch with them this week?

Then God’s 4th gift He commands his family to give each other is “Be patient with everyone” (5:14d). That’s a pretty big group, “everyone”! Being patient towards Christ-followers is hard enough. But everyone? Apparently God really means it when he says he wants His image, his character, his nature formed in us.

Remember what Linus said in the Peanuts cartoon: “I love mankind; It’s people I can’t stand!” It’s easy to feel that way, so we need a great deal of patience.

            The idea with this word “patience” (makrothumeo) is one of “longsuffering.” It’s used of God more than anyone in the O.T. when he deals with Israel’s failures generation after generation, century after century. God was patient with His people hundreds and hundreds of years.

Without this quality, God would dispense justice on the spot.He would strike down the murderer the day they murdered. He would crush the cruel schoolgirls the moment they bullied their classmate. He would condemn the playboy the first time he made sex his god. He would obliterate the racists the moment that racial slur slid off their lips…or strike the rapist the moment they touched their victims.

We may cheer such a display of swift divine justice. But what if God was not patient towards our rebellion towards parents…or our cutting word towards our children? Where would we be if He dished out immediate justice for our “little white lie” or the copying we did for that assignment? What if our lust or our anger or our jealousy or pride were judged perfectly and immediately? Where would any of us be?

You see, we may think we know when God’s patience should have run out and his justice should have flowed instead. But our opinions of when God is too patient are highly subjective and tragically skewed to shelter our own sins and weaknesses.

To be “patient” in God’s way of patience is to put up with far more than those without Christ ever would. To be “longsuffering” as Christ is towards us means that we will have to “suffer-long” on many occasions in order to give room for God to work in people’s lives.

APP:

  • Who bothers you in the Body of Christ?
  • Who makes you mad in your family?
  • Outside the family of God…at work…on campus…on the team…in the neighborhood.

Go ahead and admit it.

Then ask God to overpower your impatience with His longsuffering patience. Invite Him to cause that part of His nature, that portion of the fruit of His Spirit to flow through you to someone undeserving.

[Pray…asking God to do that in you towards someone who will require God’s patience.]

Here’s the 5th gift God wants us to give to each other and to those outside the family of God: (Vs. 15)—“See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.”

            So let’s make it personal. Let’s put our own names in the command…and the name of someone who has done evil to us. The charge from God would read like this:

“See to it,    (your name)           , that you don’t repay    (name of someone who wounded you)     evil for the evil done to you, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.”

            This isn’t an easy verse to apply. The first part is hard enough—not wanting to get back at or retaliate against someone.

            We’re good at retaliation. Oh, we don’t call it that. We use terms like “setting the record straight” or “getting the truth out.” We manage to let our opinions about someone who has hurt us slip out into conversations with others. Maybe we fire back with the same cutting, caustic kind of comment. Maybe we let our anger rise to the level of their anger. It’s hard enough not paying back evil for evil.

            But imagine what a different place every place would be if we dished out goodness and blessing every time someone sinned against us. Think of the revival that would take place if this gift were passed around the Body of Christ. Estranged friends would embrace one another. People who avoided each other would go out of their way to do a kind deed for each other or say something nice to others about them. Rather than protecting ourselves by pulling away or into our own shell, we would once again extend an invitation to share a meal…or offer to help them with some need…or do something unexpected and kind for them regardless of what they thought of us.

            Pie in the sky? No, it’s Christ in the church.

What a change such Christ-led behavior might bring to what even the world or young Millennials thinks of us today. Among young non-Christians in America today, nine out of the top 12 perceptions they have of the church are negative according to Christian researcher and pollster George Barna. Common negative perceptions include that present-day Christianity is judgmental (87%), hypocritical (85%), old-fashioned (78%), and too involved in politics (75%). Today, the most common perception about the church is that present-day Christianity is "anti-homosexual." 91% of young non-Christians and 80% of young churchgoers say this phrase describes Christianity.

            In a culture where secularists and anti-Christians are going to have plenty of opportunity to do us damage, imagine what doing them good in return would do to change their image of us…and of Christ!

So let’s end this study with the last three verse, some of the shortest in Scripture. I Thess. 5:16-18

“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.”

These verses are pretty simple to understand.

Rejoice always:Again, joy as with patience, is one of the chief characteristics of God. It is something that exists in God’s presence. In Psalm 16:11 the Psalmists speaks to God and says, “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

            As one Jesuit priest wrote, “Joy is the surest sign of the presence of God.” [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, as quoted by Bruce Larson in There’s a Lot More to Health Than Not Being Sick, p. 124]

So let me ask you, WHAT DOES "ALWAYS REJOICING" LOOK LIKE?  Or better, what DOESN'T it look like?

[Wait for responses.]

  • A satisfaction and contentedness with God.
  • Valuing Him and His presence more than anything else in life.
  • A divinely optimistic outlook on life and the future
  • An ability to unload one’s cares on God so as to download His care for us.
  • A continual conversation with and letting of expectations to God.

Which naturally leads to the next command to “pray without ceasing.” This doesn’t mean we have to be on our knees all day, praying hours on end and refusing food and sleep. Someone paraphrased this command this way: “Pray with the frequency of a hacking cough”!

            Prayer is a LOT more fun than a hacking cough. J It is what enables us to reconnect with God no matter what is happening around us.

  • When an ornery boss makes life difficult and you feel a tickle of anxiety, prayer can free you from that burden.
  • When life at home is not what you wish it was, just talking it over with God in prayer can totally change the experience.
  • When some dream is disappointed or some plan fails to materialize, connecting with God can dramatically change our contentment and joy factor.

Continual prayer in every part of our day and life is an effective pipeline to God’s wisdom. And it helps us see our problems from God’s point of view.

Which leads to the last of today’s commanding gifts—“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

God is a lot more interested in turning US into the right kinds of sons and daughters IN every life circumstance (from horrible to great) than He is in turning life’s circumstances INTO what we think they should be.  

            Notice that God doesn’t command us to thank Him FOR every circumstance in life. Some life experiences are downright evil. God isn’t thankful FOR them. But he does promise to be IN them and to use them IN US to develop us more deeply in Christ. That is the absolute wonder of the God we serve: that he can turn the worst, most evil, most ugly circumstances imaginable that life can throw at us into something that He can use to form the character of His Son Jesus in us.

            That’s why Paul could say in Romans 8:28, “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.”

What’s the worst life circumstance you have experienced? Regardless of what it is, I or someone else here probably know someone who has experienced a similarly horrific thing but who, over time and wrestling with God and loving Him in spite of that terrible experience has come to see God use it in their life to conform them more to the life of Jesus and to help others do the same.

  • Sexual abuse: I know a counselor who, as a child experienced horrific Satanic ritual abuse, abuse that eventually led to the murder of her abusive step-father by another family member.   I saw her help hundreds of people work through their abuse and come to love God more deeply despite that abuse.
  • Horrific loss through tragic death: Many of you have been helped through the tragic death of a loved one by Dr. Gerry Sittser from Whitworth who suffered the tragic death of his wife, his daughter and his mother all in the same drunk driving accident some 22 years ago on a highway near here.
  • Debilitating illness? (Amy Carmichael, Danette Baker, Jan Foland, Joni Erickson Tadda, etc.)
  • Loss of wealth…or home…or career?

God knows that until we grow to the place where we can, by faith, give thanks to God IN the whole spectrum of life experiences, we’re not going to know what it is like to be walking in the middle of God’s will. That’s what this passage says. “…for this…this continual rejoicing and praying and giving of thanks to God…THIS is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Do you want to DO God’s will? Then let’s DO some rejoicing. Let’s DO some praying. And let’s DO some giving of thanks IN the midst of life as it is right now.

Let’s first do that in PRAYER--

  • What do you need to unload at the throne of God?
  • What tough situation can you thank God by faith that He will use to grow you up in Christ and help others see Christ in you?

THE most important step to being able to do this is to surrender your life to Jesus Christ. [Invite people to trust in Christ.]

Study Questions:

1.)    What do you find most difficult to do of the four commands? Why?

  1. Admonish/correct the idle?
  2. Encourage the faint hearted?
  3. Help/hold onto the weak?
  4. Be patient towards everyone?

2.)    Who has God showed you needs you to engage with them in each of those categories? What specific action plan can you develop to do that?

3.)    Who in your life are you tempted to repay evil for evil? What is God asking you to do in order to actually bless them by doing good to them rather than retaliating or ignoring them?

How are you doing in the area of learning to fulfill the commandments of contentment, prayer, and gratitude even when you don’t feel like it (5:16-18)? Why may these disciplines be so difficult for you to master? Have you asked God to supernaturally enable you to be the man or woman He wants you to be? What fellow believer have you observed who models these characteristics? How can you learn from their life?