Our Commanding Officer - Our Lover - Our Friend: He Will Do It

He Will Surely Do It

(1 Thessalonians 5:12-28, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, November 24, 2013)

12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor 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.

Welcome to this family gathering. It was ten years ago that our building burned down in the center of our town. It was seven years ago that Lyn Doran officially joined the family. It was three years ago that we started supporting Lyn's sister, Mackey Hooper, in her work in India with victims of the sex trade. I read Mackey's new book this week. What she is doing with those girls—that's First Thessalonians Christianity, and that's what this family is committed to.

The Lord reigns. He is spreading the good news of His resurrection kingdom even now. That Word is published through the preaching and teaching of those who are set apart to open the Scriptures to the family of God and to bring the claims of Almighty God to His people.

What does God want? He works faith in His beloved children, and He calls us to live in that faith and to obey His commandments. He is slow to anger, but He does discipline those whom He loves. When His judgment comes upon a society He begins with His own family—the church. It is the job of ministers to say uncomfortable things like this in the Name of God. Our refusal to take God's Word seriously brings trouble upon us all. We need to repent, and a passage like this concluding section of 1 Thessalonians is a good place to start.

Be at peace among yourselves.

Are you holding a grudge against your spouse, your children, your parents, your siblings, or someone else in this family? It is time to give it up. That's what Jesus would have you do.

14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle,

Are you unwilling to work hard, expecting everyone else to do the work that you have promised to do? You need to get to work. Jesus worked. He wants you to work.

encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.

Are you ignoring everyone else in the family and using some excuse like the fact that you are an introvert or that you are just too busy with your own life. You need to learn people's names in the family here, find the ones that could use your help, and patiently start doing what God says.

15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.

In this family, you need to be willing to take someone else's evil and turn it into your act of goodness. This is not a place for allowing yourself to get too easily insulted. This is a safe place to learn how to turn the other cheek. If we can't learn how to do that here in the family, how will we ever do it out there among those who are so misinformed about Jesus and His church.

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.

In this house we are going to think about the resurrection King and His kingdom, and we are going to rejoice always. We are going to pray. If you are not praying, you are disobeying God and sinning against your family seated near you today. They need you to pray for them without ceasing. We are going to give thanks to God all the time no matter what. If He disciplines us, we are going to remember that He disciplines those He loves, and we are going to thank Him for it. This is not optional. If we do not do what He commands, we need to take His chastening children as good children of a great Father. This is God's will in Christ Jesus for you. Why would it be OK to ignore it? What kind of loving Father would just let His children ignore His explicit instruction forever without taking any action to show them that they need to change?

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.

This is a family that is expecting to love the plain presentation of the Word of God. You are going to need to ask God to fill you with His Spirit in order to do that well. If the preaching that you hear is accurate to the passage before us, and it should be, you are not allowed to hate it. If you hate it, you need to ask God why, and seek more of the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. If you test the messages that Nathan and I preach and find them to be out of accord with the Bible, you should to come to church earlier on Sunday morning so that you can sit with us in prayer and discussion from 8:45 to 9:15 so that we will have the benefit of your godly insights and the Word that is preached will be better. If you know that we really are preaching the Bible, then it is time for you to hold fast to what is good, and 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.

All of these instructions were given to the church in Thessalonica to follow, and I know of no reason why this would not be God's good plan for all the churches. May the God of peace, who made peace with us through the cross of Christ, make you holy. Do not be content with something less than holiness and a truly vibrant Christian life. May He who died for your sins sanctify you completely. Your whole born-again spirit. Your whole heart-mind-will soul. Your whole beautiful body created in the image of God with every part to be used according to His Law and not for sin. This is how you want to greet Him at His coming—with your whole self.

And now I have some very good news for you. All these inflexible demands come to you from the God who gave you faith and called you into this new life. He who calls you forward to resurrection living 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.

Brothers, pray for me. I want this for myself as much as I want it for you. Your elders want this. Your deacons and the leading men and women of the church want this life. Pray for us. Greet us by name in ways that people can appreciate and receive. Get to know us. Spread this Word to all the other churches you have any contact with.

And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Friends, we are waiting, but we are not idle. We are busy rejoicing, thanking Jesus, looking for every sign of His victory, and working alongside the family who hold to this way of love.

Yes, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

While waiting, we rejoice,

And thank the Lord above,

For He will bring His kingdom here

And build a world of love.