1Thessalonians 5:16-19
Commands to the Members for Themselves
I. \\#1Thess 1:1-2\\ Introduction
II. \\#1Thess 1:3-10\\ Paul’s Knowledge of the Thessalonians
III. \\#1Thess 2:1-16\\ Paul’s Plan for the Thessalonians
IV. \\#1Thess 2:17-4:12\\ Paul’s Heart for the Thessalonians
V. \\#1Thess 4:13-5:10\\ Paul’s Message for the Thessalonians
VI. \\#1Thess 5:11-22\\ Paul’s Commands to the Thessalonians
1. \\#5:11-14\\ Commands to the body, about the body, for the body.
a. Commands for the whole body.
(1) \\#11\\ Comfort yourselves together.
(2) Edify one another.
(3) \\#12-13\\ Know those who admonish you and esteem them highly.
(4)\\#13\\ Be at peace among yourselves.
b. Commands for a subset of the body.
(1) \\#14\\ Warn the unruly.
(2) Comfort the feebleminded.
(3) Support the weak.
2. \\#5:14-15\\ Commands for within and without the body
a. \\#14\\Be patient toward all.
b. \\#15\\ Do not render evil for evil.
c. Follow after good.
3. \\#5:16-22\\ Commands to the body members.
a. \\#16\\ Rejoice evermore.
b. \\#17\\ Pray without ceasing.
c. \\#18\\ In everything, give thanks.
d. \\#19\\ Quench not the Holy Spirit.
e. \\#20\\ Despise not preaching.
f. \\#21\\ Test everything. Keep that which is good.
g. \\#22\\ Abstain from things which even look bad.
VII. \\#1Thess 5:23-28\\ Closing
We continue to work through Paul’s commands for a healthy church body.
1. Commands to the body, for the body, and about the body.
2. Commands for within and without.
3. Commands to the body members.
These commands are directed to us and for us. While this could be said for the
commands in this section as well, these commands are different in that they are
not for practice among the other body members. They are commands for us to use
on ourselves. "Comforting the weak" and "being patient to others" is what we
practice on others. "Rejoicing evermore" and "praying with ceasing" is what we
practice on ourselves.
There are seven to eight of these commands, depending on how you view them. We
will look at the first four tonight.
I. \\#5:16-22\\ Commands to the Body Members
A. \\#16\\ Rejoice evermore.
1. The command is to rejoice.
2. What is the essence of this command?
a. It is a state so that we display certain emotions: happiness,
optimism, and pleasantness.
(1) This means that, by and large, your own demeanor should show
that you are rejoicing.
(2) While you can be rejoicing in your heart even while you are
crying, that is not the normal way of things.
(3) Typically, if we are rejoicing in our spirit, the remainder
of our body knows it and shows it.
(4) What does that mean? It means that if you walk around like
a gloomy Gus, you probably aren’t a rejoicing Christian.
b. This command, as well as all of the others, will require a certain
alignment between our spirit and the Holy Spirit.
(1) Even though these are ACTION commands, to do them properly
requires we be in harmony with the Holy Spirit.
(2) A Christian just cannot do certain things unless he/she is
right with God.
c. To rejoice is a joint work between our spirit and the Holy Spirit.
(1) As you all know, happiness is based on happenings.
(2) While a person who is rejoicing could most certainly be
happy, the Christian’s joy is not based on the happenings of
life.
(3) A Christian’s joy is based on their relationship with Jesus
Christ.
(a) Our Jesus relationship is a spirit to Spirit
relationship.
(b) That relationship can produce joy because, unlike
happenings, it is consistent.
(c) The promises of God are not good SOME of the time. They
are good ALL of the time.
d. The spiritual alignment necessary between us and the Holy Ghost is
that of faith.
(1) Rejoicing is a matter of faith.
(a) Those who will walk in faith will find they rejoice much
more than those who do not.
(b) Bad things happen to everyone.
(c) The difference between the Christian who walks in faith
and the person who merely has happiness is that when
bad things happen, the person with strong faith knows
that God is in control and is using the circumstances
for the glory of God and for the good of those involved.
(d) So Christian, if you struggle with joyfulness, you may
need to work on trusting God more.
(2) To rejoice is a matter of choice.
(a) Rejoicing is the choice to trust God or not to trust Him.
(b) To day it another way, rejoicing is a choice to walk in
the Spirit instead of in the flesh.
(c) Either you will believe that God is doing what He said,
that the Bible is true,
that the promises of God’s Word work,
or you won’t.
(3) I try to point out that by NOT trusting God, you gain nothing.
(a) Whereas, by trusting God, even if God does nothing else
for you, you will deal with tragedy much better.
(b) And if God is real and the Bible is true, by trusting
God, you will have the aid and comfort of the Almighty
God to help you in your trouble.
B. \\#17\\ Pray without ceasing.
1. Over the years, I have heard a lot of people debate what this means.
a. Very few people (if any) are so gifted that they could literally
pray their entire waking life.
(1) To do so would require that you had a one-track mind like no
one I have ever meet.
(2) In addition, every other issue of thought would have to be
removed. (i.e. You would be able to think about work, or
family, or school, or anything else!)
b. That being the case, I don’t think this is a literal command.
2. I think this command is telling us that we should always abide in
the praying presence of God.
a. Even making that kind of a statement is not easy to comprehend.
b. The Bible makes it clear that we are to abide in God’s presence.
John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will,
and it shall be done unto you.
c. Again, the Lord does not expect us to sit in a monastery, but He
does what us to stay in His presence spiritually.
d. This abiding in the prayerful presence of God requires a spiritual
dependency upon God.
(1) I have mentioned before that there is a required spiritual
alignment for us to be able to do these commands.
(2) We must see our total inadequacy in order to abide in the
presence of God.
3. This is a hard concept to comprehend, so let me emphasize it with four
thoughts.
a. Let no deliberate sin separate you from God’s presence. We should
never deliberately have a thought, do an action, or say a word
that would separate us from the presence of God
b. Actively seek a continual spiritual fellowship with God. God has
and does initiate most every relationship we have with God,
however, it is entirely appropriate for us to pursue Him.
c. Establish a guard against worldly intrusions.
(1) We must guard what against those things that capture our mind.
(2) When we must occupy ourselves with thoughts other than those
of Christ, we should seek quickly to return to the presence
of our Lord.
d. Always maintain a prayerful heart. Pray about everything.
C. \\#18\\ In everything, give thanks.
1. To give thanks and to rejoice are similar, but they are not the same.
a. Both are spiritual actions which first require an alignment of
our spiritual being.
b. Rejoicing is being happy, pleasant, and optimistic.
c. Giving thanks is being thankful.
(1) To give thanks is to thank God.
(2) To give thanks in everything is to thank God not only for the
good, but for the bad as well.
2. Whereas joy hinges on our faith and abiding in God’s prayer presence
hinges on our dependency, being thankful depends on our submission.
a. Some neglect to give thanks to God at all.
(1) That may stem from anything to neglect to pride.
(2) Some people just neglect to thank God.
(3) But others are so arrogant that they actually think they have
done it themselves.
b. However, some will thank God for the good things just not the bad.
(1) Those people have a problem with submission.
(2) It is hard to thank God (and mean it) for a problem you don’t
want.
(3) Our sense of "right and wrong" just won’t let us.
c. We must first submit to God as the Master.
(1) God does have a plan for our lives and that plan takes some
whittling.
(2) The problem is that we are the wood being whittled, and the
whittling hurts.
(3) In order to be thankful in everything, we must get to the
place that we can submit ourselves to God
As we close we should remember that doing the right actions is dependent upon
having the right spirit. If our spirit is out of alignment, our actions will be
as well.
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