"16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 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. 23 Now
may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit
and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 25 Brethren, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. 27 I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brethren. 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you."
Good Morning my beloved,
Welcome to worship this Lord's Day!
We are so thankful have all you, our brothers and sisters, from al over the world, with us today.
A result of continual yielding to Christ is the spiritual fruit of joy, Galatians 5:22-23 says "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
It is this daily living in Christ, that enables us to rejoice always,
even when we are less than happy. And this rejoicing in Christ is something we
can choose, whatever our feelings may be. It really becomes
a matter of obedience. Christian joy is not bound by circumstances or
hindered by difficulties. When the believer surrenders daily, to live for
Christ, the Holy Spirit creates a supernatural joy, a shalom or wellness
of soul, that is not usurped by adversity or affliction.
Jesus said, in John 16:33 "These
things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the
world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." In Christ we not
only have joy, but the enabling for us to be more joyful.
Paul tells us in Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!" Rejoicing, praying, and thanking should all be facets of our continuous daily attitude and life.
Let us bow our heads.
Heavenly Father,
Thank
You for the Word You have for us today. Open hearts today for Your Word
about to be heard. Help us to take it to the world with courage and
boldness. Lead us to speak the truth, with the love, compassion and
gentleness of Christ, remind us that we must have convictions, and clear
theology. Guard Your churches against the infiltration of false
doctrine, shallow teaching and preaching, that pleases men rather than
You. Convict us to teach the truth, foundational, sound doctrine, which
is essential for us to grow in faith and spiritual maturity.
This we pray in Christ's name, the head of the church
Amen
Today's Message:
"Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. Now
may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit
and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you."
All of God's commandments in the Bible are beyond our human ability, to obey in
the flesh, so we must rely on His indwelling Holy Spirit. In fact, some of
the Bible's commands are not simply difficult, they down right impossible. As a matter of fact, all of history, there was no one except Jesus has ever come close to keeping all of them.
I find it interesting that the Apostle Paul doe not offer us any type explanation. Nor does he offer any help on
what these commands mean or how we are to obey them. He simply states them in
staccato fashion and then, moves on! However, thankfully other Scriptures do offer some help
in understanding what these commands mean and how we can begin to
develop the attitudes and habits that will help us move toward the mark,
even if in this life we will never obey these commands perfectly as Jesus did.
Our passage contains three imperative, commands, directing our
attitudes and actions if we would live in God’s will. Paul succinctly defines it as praying without
ceasing, giving thanks in everything and rejoicing always. These are
inner attitudes that Christians can choose by yielding to the
Spirit daily until they become abiding and constant.
These brief but
pointed to admonitions, hold for us the secret of a peaceful
heart amid the turmoil and clamor of a hectic, chaotic world. The instructions of
these verses are to be woven into our daily lives, until they become part
of the very fabric of who we are.The first is in verse 16, "Rejoice always." The second is in verse 17, "Pray without ceasing. And lastly, in verse 18, "in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."
These frequently misunderstood verses does not mean that one is to be
rejoicing praying, and giving thanks every minute of the day, nor does it necessarily call for an individual’s
maintaining always an attitude of prayer. Obviously,
to pray without ceasing means something other than constantly saying
prayers, or the command is an impossibility. In other words, it is not in the moving of ones lips, but an the elevation of the heart. The discipline of unceasing prayer to me means nothing less than practicing the presence of God in everything that we do. The continual awareness of God’s presence means to live with a growing awareness that God is always present with you.
We
know that prayer was important in the early church. It was a high and
holy
experience when the church united in prayer. Today, many churches call
on someone to
lead in prayer, having no idea whether that person is even in
fellowship with God. We also know that thanksgiving is also an essential
element of worship. As we grow in our
application of the Word of God, we must also grow in our expression of
praise. If a local church is "growing in grace" the congregation will
want to
learn new hymns in order to give praise to God. If the heart and head
do not keep pace with each other, Christian worship becomes
less spiritual and more hypocritical. verse 18 requires trust in the
sovereignty of Christ. I'd like to draw your attention that the text
says "in everything, not for everything." While I may not be able to
give thanks for all of the things that
happen, I can give thanks "in everything," for the confidence that God
is
always present and is always at work for good.
Through many of the great dramas the Bible, we are taught that the belief that God is at
work for good in the lives of His people, no matter what. There was
nothing good in Joseph’s brothers selling him to the Ishmaelite traders.
There was nothing good about the injustices he experienced from
Potiphar's wife. But, in retrospect, Joseph could say of it all in Genesis 50:20, "You
meant evil against me; but God meant it for good."
In Romans 8:28, Paul teaches us "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."
Beloved, we must never forget that God is at work in and through our circumstances, and often in spite of the way things might appear. Gratitude is a life-changing, happiness inducing choice.
In verses 19 through 21, Paul instructs us "Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything
carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil."
Apart
from God’s Word, we have no certain revelation from the Lord.
Worship that ignores the Bible is not spiritual. Worship that ignores
the Bible is not spiritual. While there may be emotion,
unless there is spiritual truth, the Holy Spirit is not at work. I
believe that it is important that we allow the Spirit of God, to teach
us the Word of God when we meet to worship.
The life of the believer is to be oriented lived in fellowship with God’s Spirit.
This constant awareness requires certain disciplines of devotion
or prayer. You begin by dying to self by the power of the cross. Then
you present yourself to God’s Presence, to love and worship Him, to
offer all you are are, or doing or bearing to Him and placing your
mind, body, soul and strength at His feet.
Verse 22-24, Paul says we are to " abstain from every form of evil.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your
spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass." The purpose of worship is that we might become more like Christ in character and conduct.
Here, Paul
is emphasizing the balance in Christian living: The negative in verse
22, and
the positive in verse 23. Some churches only preach the negative, or the
positive, which this leads to lives and ministries that are out of
balance.
In verses 25-26, Paul says "Brethren, pray for us, Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss."
After the corporate worship is ended, the saints minister to one
another. They greet one another and seek to encourage. In a lot of
churches, the congregation leaves so fast, you would think the building
was on fire. I have even visited some churches, in which the pastor is the first one out of the door! The "holy kiss" of Paul’s day is the same gesture as the handshake
today.
Paul concludes with another reminder that the Word of God is the important
thing in the local church. The Word must govern our conduct and guide
our lives. We are to read the Word personally, but we also need to hear
the Word in the fellowship of the local church, for the one experience
helps balance the other.
In Closing...
These three exhortations the Apostle Paul give us, are not just good advice, they are God’s will
for the life of every Christian. They are not the totality of God’s will, but they
are a clear and important segment of it. God’s will means joy, prayer,
and thanksgiving for those who are in Christ Jesus.
As a Church family, we should always remember to pray for one
another. Friends and family often greet each
other in a variety of ways in various cultures. Some kiss, others hug,
bow, or shake hands. The "holy kiss" likely calls for believers to
express mutual love in genuine, affirming fashion.
We must express our concern for other believers to hear the message directly. Equal access to the Word of God, implies equal responsibility to obey the Word.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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