Hello, my “Walking with Jesus” friends on this great weekend,
Have you noticed the closing words of a letter, or a conversation can be very powerful? This weekend, as we close out a week and prepare for another, let’s think about that as we look at some of Paul’s closing words to his first letter to his friends in Thessalonica, Macedonia, written almost 2000 years ago.
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess. 5:16,17) Wow! Now that’s a great way to end a letter or conversation, isn’t it? Read it again… What would it take for you and me to live those words consistently, my friends?
But every day, everywhere in the world, the human journey is difficult, complex, and even painful, isn’t that true? Yes, it’s true, and it always has been. It was especially true for Paul and the people living in the Roman empire in the first century. So, Paul gives us some keys, some ideas for HOW to “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances…” Look at what Paul writes next: “Do not quench the Spirit of God. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.” Let’s take those one at a time for there’s power in these statements.
“Do not quench the Spirit of God.” If you are NOT a Christian, the Holy Spirit of God is working in your life to draw you to see your need for God’s help, and to help you trust Jesus. I wonder if you can see how, you are actually resisting and even rejecting what the Spirit of God is trying to do to help you? If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit is continually working in you and me, to help us honor God with our lives, and help us bring the help and hope of the power and purity of Jesus into our world. But you and I, as Christians, have the ability to resist and even reject the work of God in our lives, don’t we? When we do that, we actually “quench” the Spirit’s influence in our lives!
Listen very carefully to this further statement when Paul was writing about this to the Christians in Ephesus: “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit and do not give the devil a foothold.” (Eph. 4:27,30) Do you see the direct link between saying NO to the Holy Spirit of God who is trying to help us, and the devil taking advantage of that spiritual NO to start working his evil way into our lives, gaining a foothold in some part of our lives? Do we understand the devil is never satisfied with only a foothold? He will do all he can to worm his wickedness into every part of our lives, pulling us further and further away from God. Can you see how that works in your life my friends?
Now what do you suppose Paul meant when he wrote: “Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.” His word “prophecies” does not mean predicting the future exclusively, it also means TRUTH speaking. Those who were viewed as “prophets” both in Old Testament times and in the first century were people anointed by the Spirit of God to speak God’s Truth, boldly and clearly, calling people to action. What action? The action of first recognizing where their lives were out of alignment with God and then to take the action needed to get their lives…their attitudes, their feelings, their words and their actions back into FULL alignment with God. Who are the bold speakers of God’s TRUTH in your city? Who are the ones not afraid to identify the distortions, the deceit, the wrong thinking and the danger of rejecting God’s truth?
Do you see that little phrase “Test them all”? That is very wise in every aspect of life. TEST whatever you hear or read to discern what is true and what is false. Can you and I do that with advertising, with political rhetoric, what about the media and whatever social media platforms you frequent? What about those who are in positions which they use to claim authority and even whatever you hear in normal, everyday conversation?
If you had to guess, right now, what percentage of ALL that is printed or spoken EVERYDAY is NOT true? If we don’t TEST what we hear for truthfulness, what risk do we take of believing lies and being duped? I love Paul’s very clear and bold statement: “hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.” Here’s another way to say that: Hold on to what is TRUE, reject what is NOT true. Now how different would your life and mine be if we did that, consistently, everyday?
Now friends, this is so powerful and could be so life changing for so many of us in our world, I think we need to pause here using this weekend to really wrestle with what Paul has said to us. Here are some questions to help us think…
1. What would need to change in my life in order for me to live “Rejoice always,pray continually, give thanks to God in all circumstances”?
Well first I’d need to believe God is sovereign in all aspects of my life at all times, right? Then I’d need to have such confidence in the power of God, the goodness of God, that no matter what circumstances I find myself in, I would pray thanking God that He is watching over my life and working to accomplish His purposes in my life. Wow! What would it take for us to live like that every day?
2. How can I develop my personal discernment to be able to recognize any time in my life when I resist or reject the work of the Holy Spirit of God in me?
How can I develop my personal awareness of ANYTIME I actually quench the work of the Holy Spirit in me? Will I take responsibility for my opposition to God in this? Do I understand how much damage I’m doing to all the good God is trying to accomplish IN and THROUGH me when I resist or reject or quench the Spirit’s influence in my life?
3. Can I immerse myself deeply enough in God’s truth that I can test everything I read or hear, discerning even a slight hint of error or deceit or distortion or outright rejection of God’s truth?
4. Can I discipline myself to turn away from ANYTHING that is not in full agreement with God’s truth? Will I recognize any compromise and acceptance of untruth in me?
And will I take responsibility for the purity of my heart and mind by dealing with that weakness in me before it gains a foothold, before it takes root in me?
My friends, we are surrounded and deluged, every day, by schemes of the dark kingdom to abandon God’s truth, to compromise our relationship with God, to allow and even embrace the planting in our life of seeds of rebellion against God. Apathy, spiritual anemia, boredom with God, moral laziness, ethical mediocrity are all pathways to character suicide and spiritual implosion. It’s happening all around us and I’m calling us to awareness, to being alert and to taking bold action to protect our minds and hearts and to engage the encroaching darkness.
Don’t stand by idle and watch your family or community or even your church collapse. Be an “oak of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor” (Is. 61:3) and let’s stand firm against the rising flood waters that will soon sweep away all those who are unaware, unprepared and unwilling to be pillars of God’s truth strength in our decaying world.
I suggest we all take our journals and make some specific action step notes in response to the questions I’ve given us today, as we re-read 1 Thess. 5:12-21. And I’ll meet you right back here Monday as we look at Paul’s closing words in this great letter.
Today’s Scripture is 1 Thess. 5:16-21.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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