07.02.2011 1 Thess. 5 - How to Rejoice/Pray/Give Thanks - Even in Difficult Circumstances

We are finishing 1 Thessalonians this week – and next week we will be looking at Bible translations – it will be fun and interesting – and will help you to understand why we have different translations and how to read your Bible better – we can always learn that.
Father, thank You for this series we’ve been going through – we appreciate You and give thanks and worship You. I ask that You would touch our hearts that we might hear from You and Your word and be prepared to learn and listen from You. May we be changed people.
If you have served our country – or have a son or daughter who is serving or has served – raise your hand.
1 Thess 5: 16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus
These are personal – but for the culture they lived in, it was very community oriented and Paul is not just speaking to individuals, but also how the church should be when they assemble. We can’t be that way when we are with one another if we aren’t that way in our own lives in private.
There are 3 words – Paul builds here – he was no dummy – and he had the Holy Spirit – He uses these words – Always, without ceasing, continually, all circumstances – it is a constant, continual thing – something to think about.
For this is God’s will in Christ Jesus – and that relates to all three.
There are no breaks - 16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
That is what God wants you to do – all of that – like one command, is what God is calling us to do. So often we get caught up in trying to figure out God’s will, but it is often quite simple – if we follow the things that are clear, God will make known to us the things that are unclear. Too often we get caught up in understanding the mysteries – and miss obeying the simple commands.
You could go home and follow these and we could be done.
Rejoice always – not just experiencing joy – he is not saying that you should FEEL JOY always. That is not going to happen and that is not what the Bible teaches – we are taught to mourn and grieve at times – but it does say that we should express the activity of rejoicing always.
The experience of joy comes when your marriage or family is going well. With your health – economically, in ministry, in relationships – those things give us the feeling of joy. Rejoicing and expressing the activity of rejoicing can include all of that, but can exist without any of it! You can express the activity of rejoicing even when nothing is going right. The Thessalonians are going through significant difficulty, persecution and struggling – and Paul is telling them – there is no circumstantial joy right now, but you can rejoice in the situation and circumstance in which they live.
How can we do that? The first thing, believe that you belong to God. We need to have a certainty that we are in God’s hands. They need to understand that first and foremost. God has a hold on them and is not going to let go.
Along with this, they need to believe that God loves them deeply.
We don’t understand how deeply flawed we are and we don’t understand how deeply God loves us. I don’t think we have the capacity as people to understand how deeply He loves us. We can’t even measure it. Romans says it is deep, wide, long and more.
Rejoicing always has to do with understanding we belong to God, understanding that He loves us, and believing that God desires our good. God wants our good – and He is actively involved in bringing about good in our lives.
This good may be completely absent of those things I mentioned earlier that give us joyful feelings. We don’t often understand that. It may include all of those things, but it may also lack all of those things. Through history, we see Christians who have lost everything and have rejoiced according to this command.
Romans 8: 28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to [His] purpose.
Maybe most important to understand in this - All of this will not be fully experienced until the new heavens and new earth. That is what helps us rejoice always. That is what is happening here. It will all be understood at the end, when we are with Jesus for all eternity. And that is where all of our hope needs to lie. That is hard, though, because we want it all now. But at times, we don’t get to see any of it until the end.
Understanding that- we can rejoice always.
Pray without ceasing. How do we understand that? It does not mean non-stop petitions. It IS an attitude of drawing near to God. Say you are going in to surgery – you have a Christian surgeon – do you want him praying without ceasing (“Lord, I pray for my grandmother right now”) – no, but you want him to be saying, God, help me to be successful here. Whatever you are doing, you can be going back to God understanding that He is in control and is working in our lives.
David said – Evening, morning, and noon – I cry aloud. If you learn to practice this – 3 times a day – each period of the day – setting aside some time to pray – if you have a habit like that, you are more likely to continue throughout the rest of the day. Find little habits that connect you to God – that cause you to rejoice and to turn your eyes and heart to God.
Give thanks IN all circumstances – It doesn’t say, FOR all circumstances – if he meant FOR, he would have said FOR!
Because Paul HAD a word for FOR, and he used the word meaning IN
The reason that this is important – yes, God works all things for good, but not all things are good. Tsunamis, Sin, abuse, - He is not saying – Give thanks for tsunamis, but you can give thanks IN that situation. And that is a different thing. He is not saying – give thanks FOR cancer, but there are ways to give thanks IN cancer.
Sometimes we overdo it. There are those who complain about everything – and that is not good, but there is the other side – rejoicing FOR things that God doesn’t like at all. But within the circumstances we find ourselves in – if we understand that God is there, loves us and is working for our good, we can find a way to give thanks IN that situation.
I think, I know what God is trying to do in our lives – to get us to depend on Him completely. When we get to heaven, we think all of our problems will be solved – and it will – but the real joy will come from a complete trust and understanding how much God loves us – and that ids what God wants us to understand here on earth. We find waves of difficulties rolling over us – and in those, He wants us to trust in Him.
None of us, if he is honest, wants to get to that point – we would rather trust Him at all times and this is how you live.
Practicing the presence of God – that is what these verses are saying.
He moves on in v. 19
19 Do not quench the Spirit; 20 do not despise prophetic utterances. 21 But examine everything [carefully]; hold fast to that which is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.
These are not separate issues. All of these things take place within the church – it is not just an individual thing. It is easy, even in the church community, to complain and to develop an atmosphere of complaining – and that is not what God desires. Joy comes from the Spirit of God working in our lives – and although it seems like an abrupt change – none of this can be accomplished without the Spirit of God working in us. This tells of the charismatic nature of the community. Do not quench the Spirit.
19 Do not quench the Spirit; 20 do not despise prophetic utterances. 21 But examine everything [carefully]; hold fast to that which is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.
I think it is really easy to let go of the activity of the Spirit and to not place emphasis on it and to not allow Him to move in and through us, but God wants to work through the Spirit – and God is calling us to minister to one another – to learn from one another. When we think of the spiritual nature of the church – Charisma – the gifts of the spirit – we look at the more expressive ones, but He is speaking of ALL the gifts that God has given us in the church. The bible is clear, you have been blessed with spiritual gifts and talents (those are good too), skills (yes, you can use those to serve) but the spirit has given us gifts. To you come with an attitude of joy and thankfulness? It is important for us to learn this for all of us. Don’t be the complainer. That doesn’t mean when you are struggling to not share and get comfort, but we all have a role to lift one another up.
How do you know you have a spiritual gift?
You are serving – and realize that – when I did that, it was something unique – WOW! God used me there! I really like that! He gave me a sense of purpose and meaning. That is the Spirit of God working in you to minister to people in the church.
Someone was talking to me about when he spoke some wisdom to someone else. It might be like that. No halos appeared. But that is how the Spirit works – giving us ability to work with one another.
Our church – by charismatic standards – would be considered non-charismatic – but I don’t consider us to be non-charismatic – but churches like ours can sometimes quench the Spirit – and I don’t want us to be like that.
1 Thess. 1: 8 For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. 9 For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God,
The whole area had heard of what God was doing.
When God is working, the world sees.
1 Thess 4: 9 Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for [anyone] to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another
1 Thess 5: 13 and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another.
How do we know the Spirit is at work? The church loves one another – there is giving of thanks –
1 Thess 1: 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, [that is] Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.
The Spirit is at work in churches that are living for that next world – that next life –
It is easy to live for this life and this life only – it consumes everything – He wants to direct us and He wants us to look forward to the One that is coming.