Be
Encouraged… to Live by Faith in this Fallen World!
I Thessalonians 5:16-18
Introduction: This week the governor of Maine laid out her vision for
re-opening Maine, and I appreciate your prayers as the leadership team of
Boothbay Baptist Church will be meeting tomorrow (Monday, May 4th at
4 PM), via Zoom, to talk through our vision for moving toward normalcy. Like
many of you, we are anxious to be together, at the same time we want to do so as
safely as possible, while also recognizing our biblical responsibility to
respect the governing authorities. Please be praying, and as soon as possible,
we’ll map out our plan, in the light of current conditions, for the coming
days. Right now what we can all do is pray without ceasing, for God’s mercy in
ending this pandemic, for eyes to see and ears to hear the lessons He is
teaching us as individuals and as a church, for the church leadership to have
discernment and wisdom, and for our government leaders, local, state and national,
to put aside politics and to act wisely for the good of the people.
Along these
lines, I neglected to announce last Wednesday that this week, in lieu of
meeting Wednesday for our regular prayer time, we’ll meet via Zoom on Thursday
at 6:30 PM to join with churches around the country celebrating the
National Day of Prayer. What an opportune time for churches to unite,
seeking God, and His glory! The theme this year is “PRAY God’s glory across
the earth.” The key verse is Habakkuk 2:14, “For the earth will
be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the
sea.” Please mark that on your calendar, and connect with us via Zoom on
Thursday night. Also, today, after this message, we are going to try a Zoom communion
service with the friends and members of Boothbay Baptist Church. You should
have a link in your email (since I sent it out to all the emails I had, it
could be in your spam folder!).
The passage for
today is brief, only three short verses, 16 words in the Greek text. It is part
of a series of exhortations at the end of this letter as Paul transitions from
talking about how our faith should impact our relationships with people,
specifically, with our leaders, with our brothers and sisters in the church,
and with the world, to talking about how our faith will energize our attitudes toward
God and our response to Him. These verses are structured around 3
imperatives, verbal commands urging the reader to respond to the reality that
Paul has described in this letter, and has underscored in this immediate
context, that Jesus died for our sins and rose again, and that He is
returning to rescue believers and to judge the lost. If we believe God, if
our trust is in Him, how then shall we live? According to John Walvoord, the
attitudes Paul describes here show a person to be living in the realm of
faith, trusting the Lord. The ESV reads…
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.
It is clear from the grammar here that the final phrase in
this passage is the reason, the logical basis for the three commands: “for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you…” Many times through the
years one of the issues that come up in counselling has to do with a desire to
discern God’s will in a situation. This obviously is not all God requires
of us, but here we are given three things that we know God desires, three attitudes
that demonstrate we trust Him, and no matter what else may happen, we know we
are His, and His plan is good.
The Maine* Idea: Our sure hope in Jesus allows us to have joy, independent
of circumstances, to pray with confidence about the future, and to give thanks,
even before we see the answers.
I. God wills that we be relentlessly joyful: “Rejoice always…” (16). For
the record, this teaching is not unique to this letter, nor is it unique to the
Apostle Paul. James got very specific about joy in adversity when he said,
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when
you meet trials of various kinds, 3
for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its
full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing… (James 1:2-4).
Notice what
James is saying, James says to “count
it all joy…”! James is giving us
something to “do,” an imperative that specifically guides a Christian
response to trouble when it comes our way. Notice it relates to how we think:
“Count it all joy…” In
James, though we are not glad for trials, recognizing God has a PLAN no
matter what is happening, can allow us to have joy even in times of trouble
(1-4). Trusting God allows us to have a joyous attitude in the midst of adversity.
If we’ll receive it, troubles can remind us that God is working everything,
even this, for our good and for His glory. The trials we experience are also
a reminder that this is why Jesus came. We live in a fallen world, and He came
to overcome the effects of the fall, to undo the curse, so that sinners can be made
holy and have fellowship with God. And so, getting back to our passage in I
Thessalonians 5:16, we can “Rejoice always…” This is actually the
shortest verse in the Greek New Testament (even shorter than “Jesus wept”!),
but it is deep in what it is suggesting. Because we are forgiven, because we
know God and are assured that we are His forever, we live with unrelenting
joy. The suffering of this present age is not worthy to be compared to
the glory that will be revealed in us (Rom 8:18).
I Thessalonians 5:16
is not the only place Paul makes a statement about relentless joy. He says much
the same thing in Philippians 4:4, and repeats it for emphasis: “Rejoice in
the Lord always! Again I say, Rejoice!” Remember the context of that
letter, Paul was a prisoner! And yet the dominant theme in the letter to the Philippians
is joy! In his suffering, he was relentlessly joyful! Once when I preached on a
text like this, maybe the one in Philippians or in James, the television show “Duck
Dynasty” had become popular. I said I was a little like the old guy, Phil
Robertson, who never seemed to smile, even when he said he was “Happy, happy,
happy”! Someone (you know who you are!) even gave me a T-shirt! I guess I need
to work on letting the joy in my heart be more visible on my face!
In our passage
Paul says, “Rejoice always.” How can we rejoice always? Joy is not simply an emotion or a feeling
that we have. Gordon Fee says “…it is a deep down confidence that God is in
control of everything for the believers good and for his own glory, and thus
all is well no matter what the circumstances.” It is well with my soul!
I think John Stott got at the idea when he said “Paul is issuing not an
order to be happy but an invitation to worship, and to joyful worship at that.”
Rejoice always!
It doesn’t mean
that we rejoice because of painful or
difficult circumstances – but we know we can trust God in the midst of the storm!
As Paul said in Philippians, we have joy “…in
the Lord…” It’s because we are in Christ, already a part of the new
creation, that we can rejoice. We belong to the king of kings, the creator of
the universe knows us and we are His! And so, we rejoice “…always…” It is not only when things go well that we can have joy –
we have a peace in times of chaos that the world cannot understand. Even in this chaotic world we can have joy,
because the Prince of Peace is near, and He has invited us to trust Him with
our burdens. That brings us to the Maine* Idea: Our sure hope in Jesus
allows us to have joy, independent of circumstances, to pray with confidence
about the future, and to give thanks, before we see the answers. So, God wills
us to be 1. relentlessly joyful, and 2) persistently prayerful…
II. God desires that we be persistent in prayer: “…pray without ceasing…” (17).
First, let’s
state the obvious, I don’t think Paul is saying that we are, or should, or
could for that matter, be praying 24/7. I think it was a Christian apologist
who said, “I am pretty much an atheist until I have my first cup of coffee in
the morning!” None of us can pray at every moment, but we want to develop an
attitude of prayer, expectation, as we learn to be conscious of God’s presence
in the Spirit. Jesus said, “I am with you always.” We want to live in the light of that truth,
going through life conscious of His presence, asking, thanking, expressing our
struggles, bringing our needs. Prayer is not simply a way for believers to get what they
want. Continual, persistent prayer is expressing our faith, our trust, our dependence on
Him. We are constantly entrusting ourselves, and our needs, to Him, conforming
our will to His will. We need to recapture the wonder of the privilege of
prayer. Mark Howell expresses that in his commentary,
God wants
to hear from you. Let that thought soak in for a moment. The God of this
universe wants to hear from you. On the basis of your relationship with
Jesus Christ, you have been granted an all-access ticket into His presence (Heb
10:19-22). Second, if God expects that you will ask Him for things, then it
follows that He has the ability to give you what you ask. In fact, He has the
ability to give you more than you ask (Eph 3:20).
So, prayer is a step of faith and an act of worship. And
amazingly, it seems to open the door to God blessing us in ways we would not
expect. George Muller wrote concerning his ministry to orphans,
“The
funds are exhausted. We had had been reduced so low as to be at the point of
selling those things which could be spared…” Then a woman arrived who had been
traveling four days, bringing with her the funds that were needed as a donation.
Muller and his co-workers had been praying fervently those four days for
something God had already answered… Muller made this observation, “That the
money had been so near the orphan house for several days without being given,
is plain proof that it was from the beginning the heart of God to help us, but because
He delights in the prayers of His children, He allowed us to pray so long, also
to try our faith and to make the answer so much sweeter…”
Prayer is an amazing privilege, and seemingly it changes us
as much as it changes our circumstance. The very act of prayer is expressing
our faith, our trust that God our Father is bigger than whatever the obstacle before
us. And it shows our dependence on Him. “I need thee ever hour, most gracious
Lord!” That points back to the Maine* Idea: Our sure hope in Jesus
allows us to have joy, independent of circumstances, to pray with confidence
about the future, and to give thanks, before we see the answers.And so we can
be relentlessly joyful, persistently prayerful, and 3) consistently grateful…
III. God
wills that we be grateful in all circumstances: “…give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (18).
The wording here implies not necessarily
that we are thankful for everything we face, even tragedies and
hardships, but rather that we should be thankful even in those
situations. Though Corrie ten Boom did relate a story that reminds us that even
in the hard things, God is present, if we have the eyes to see it…
Corrie
Ten Boom in The Hiding Place relates an incident that taught her an important
principle. She and her sister, Betsy, had just been transferred to the worst
German prison camp they had seen yet, Ravensbruck.
Upon
entering the barracks, they found them extremely overcrowded and flea-infested.
Their Scripture reading that morning in 1 Thessalonians had reminded them to
rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks in all circumstances. Betsy
told Corrie to stop and thank the Lord for every detail of their new living
quarters. Corrie at first flatly refused to give thanks for the fleas, but
Betsy persisted. She finally succumbed.
During
the months spent at that camp, they were surprised to find how openly they
could hold Bible study and prayer meetings without guard interference. It was
several months later when they learned that the guards would not enter the
barracks because of the fleas.
Not always
will we see God’s good purpose, some things, like thorns and fleas, and maybe
black flies, may be part of life in a fallen world, reminders of sin and human
rebellion. John Stott would make a distinction, “We cannot of course thank
God ‘for all circumstances’, including those which are evil and
displeasing to him; but we can and should thank him in all circumstances
or ‘whatever happens’” [emphasis added]. That seems to be Paul’s emphasis
here in this context. He brings “prayer” and “thanksgiving” together in a
similar way later in Philippians 4:6-7,
…do
not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which
surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Rather than
being paralyzed by anxiety, we pray, and even as we pray, we express our
thanksgiving! I don’t think God expects us to thank Him for trials or
difficulties – but despite of them we can still be thankful for God, for who He
is, for what He has done for us and promises to us, and we can ask Him to grow
our faith through those times. Remember Jesus said, “…be of good cheer, for
I have overcome the world!” (John 16:33b). A person whose cancer has gone into remission
may well say, “I am so thankful to God. God is good.” That is praise. But a
person who is dying of cancer and in pain may also calmly say, “Everything is
all right. God is good, all the time.” That is peace that passes understanding.
Leon Morris said,
“…when a man comes to see that God in
Christ has saved him, everything is altered. He now realizes that God’s purpose
is being worked out. He sees the evidence in his own life and in the lives of
those around him. This leads to the thought that the same loving purpose is
being worked out even in those events which he is inclined not to welcome at
all. When he comes to see God’s hand in all things he learns to give thanks for
all things…” (Commentary on First Thessalonians, p. 174).
In I Thessalonians, in this context, we’ve
been reminded that 1) we have been saved, 2) we are saved, and so we know that 3)
we will be saved eternally. Whether we
live or die, we belong to Jesus, we are forgiven – we have eternal life! It seems to me that we need to cultivate a “pilgrim
perspective,” recognizing that we are only passing through this life, no matter
what, it is short. The greatest blessings that we now have, the most joyful
moments we experience are giving us just a little glimpse of the glory God has
for us in eternity. So, no matter what happens, we have something to be thankful
about, eternally thankful, regardless of what is happening around us.
What is God saying to me in this passage? And so, despite our present
circumstances, God wills that we be relentlessly joyful, persistently
prayerful, and consistently thankful. “Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all
circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Sixteen
words in the Greek text, 22 in English, that show the world that we believe
God, we trust Him, not only when things are going well, but even in the valleys
of life. Remember the friends of Daniel who refused to bow before the king’s
idol? “Our God is able to deliver us, but even if He does not…” Even if He
doesn’t, we trust Him, we worship Him only. That’s the Maine* Idea: Our
sure hope in Jesus allows us to have joy, independent of circumstances, to pray
with confidence about the future, and to give thanks, before we see the
answers.
What would God have me to do in response to this
passage? This
current crisis has a lot of people discouraged, some are struggling, even
depressed. With the psalmist they cry, and we cry with them, “How long O Lord?”
In those moments we need to remember
the big picture. God is not indifferent to the hardships of life in this fallen
world. He sent the Son to make it possible for all who trust Him to have life, true life, the
way life should be! Jesus endured the Cross so that we could live
eternally. Do you know that? Do you believe it? Then, “Rejoice always, pray
without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God
in Christ Jesus for you.” I don’t think we thank God for this pandemic, but
we can pray that we’ll have eyes to see, and ears to hear the lessons that He
would teach us through it. The word “thanksgiving” translates the Greek
verb, eucharisteo, from which we get the word “Eucharist.” We don’t use
that term in the Baptist tradition since we see communion as a memorial, an
ordinance that represents the body and blood of Christ, given to save those who
believe. As we participate in the Table it is an act of worship, and that includes
thanksgiving for what God has done, He gave His only Son, so that whoever
believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life! AMEN.
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