Friends, I'm so thankful that I can unpack this passage with you.
Whilst I'm untangling myself, I want to add my special welcome to you.
But a particular special welcome to our Year 7-8s into our room
as they continue on the journey of discovering what it looks like to be lifelong disciples
and particularly as they worship with us on Sundays.
So I'm really glad that I can tie a neat bow.
I try to, hopefully.
To finish one Thessalonians.
And if you've got a St Paul's app with you, there is an outline for notes.
But if you're a note taker, I've got them on the screen for you.
These are the three points.
Number one, the heart of worship.
Number two, the inputs for worship.
And steadfast worship.
But before we do, let's pray.
Gracious Father, your kindness in Christ means that we can come before your throne
with full confidence that you will deliver on your promises.
And today I pray that you show us those promises evidently.
The promises that your spirit is unveiling the glories of this text to see you clearly.
And the promise that you are chipping away at our hearts so that we can become more like our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
I remember a while ago I was walking with a friend of mine to Macca's.
And we were determined to get a really, really good feed.
And as we were chatting, he kind of stopped me because he had received a text.
And it was a text that kind of shocked him.
And it was about a sad occurrence that had happened for a friend of his.
And he said, let's just stop now.
Let's just pray for this person.
And I was like, wow, okay.
Like, this is the first time I've ever gone like, okay, let's just stop in the middle of the path
and just pray because my heart is convinced and convicted that it needs to get chicken nuggets.
And as we continued hanging, I just noticed him talk about how cool it was for God to be his creator.
Every third sentence was like speckled with, I thank God that, or in God's kindness, by God's grace.
And as I was hearing these things, like, did he just want to show that he was, you know, more holy, more overtly religious than me?
And what I'd begun to realize was that he was so convinced, so convinced that God is the true and living God,
that he was confident about the presence and work of the living God, that he had to talk to him, that he had to talk about him.
This is worship.
What's your picture of worship?
Is worship connected to singing songs or when we open the Bible, when we pray?
Perhaps all the things that seem uber churchy.
Maybe we see that worship is only a matter of time in our calendars, a Sunday, maybe a midweek,
or maybe even certain seasons.
When seasons are hard, you come to church for hope and assurance.
And what I want to say is that the scriptures, particularly the passage that we're going to unpack today,
is much, much greater in its depiction of worship, much greater on a grander scale.
And we might have a small view of what worship is or what it even can be.
And it's limited, perhaps because the way that we give devotion and adoration to God
is confined by the resources that we can give him that we think are limited.
But maybe that's not the case.
Maybe God joyfully says you actually have more to offer than you think.
But this passage captures the essence about worship.
If last week's passage that Nick looked at was the horizontal nature of what it looks like
to be a follower of Jesus until Christ returns, this speaks of the vertical nature, our devotion to God.
Paul's very first point in regard to worship is that worship is an all-of-life matter.
If you've got your Bibles open, keep it at verse 16.
It says,
Be joyful always.
Pray continually.
Give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Notice the language.
Notice that Paul uses to describe the action words with always, continually, all circumstances.
Worship is not a matter that is a start and stop.
It's not a compartmentalised life where I do this, this, and worship is here.
Worship is all of life.
And this might sound overwhelming to you.
How am I supposed to juggle being a parent, a child, a student, an employee, a boss, do chores, find time to sleep,
a member of a church, let alone be an all-of-life worshipper of Jesus?
Friends, that perhaps the question is not the what or how we do worship,
but our first question ought to be the who, the object of our worship.
Whom do you worship?
Friends, who or even what do you devote your time, affections, and praise to?
The matter at hand isn't that maybe you need more church or more Bible.
They could be, in fact, what you might need.
But the reason you worship is the object.
And the object in 1 Thessalonians that he starts and begins is that we worship the true and living God
who's made visible in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
So do you see God for who he is?
Do you see him as the creator of the universe?
Two years ago, I picked up tennis, and I had played as a child for about 10 years,
and I was really genuinely, I'm not trying to be humble, not good at all.
Couldn't hit a ball for the life of me.
And I just noticed, as I was hitting my forehands and backhands, my coach said something to me,
and he was screaming repeatedly from the other side of the net.
And he said, eyes on the ball, like a million times.
Because I thought I had my eyes on the ball, but what I realised was I had my eyes on the opponent,
the coach, spectators, where I was trying to aim,
but what I needed to have my eyes fixed on was the ball.
And the three actions that Paul refers to in worship that he calls you to do all times,
all circumstances is pray, rejoice, give thanks.
For the Christian, this is what the heartbeat of the person does,
and it only is worship that is pleasing and true
when the worship has our eyes fixed on the right thing.
Pray to God in Christ Jesus.
Give thanks to God for Christ Jesus.
Rejoice in the Lord.
That's where your eyes should be fixed, friends.
It's because Christ is worthy of your praise.
He is the only living, true God who created all things to give thanks to.
Worship is made right and perfect when our eyes are fixed with Jesus.
And the rejoicing here that Paul talks about as well is not this matter of being happy.
John Piper puts joy as being Christian joy is a good feeling in the soul produced by the Holy Spirit
as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the word and in the world.
Happiness hangs on what happens.
Joy doesn't.
I won my soccer game.
I got a promotion.
If that's not happening, I'm not happy.
But joy?
Joy can be a matter of when life is frustrating.
Joy can be experienced and felt in the midst of grief.
Joy can be felt when you don't know even what the Lord is doing in your life at this present moment.
Think about the times that Paul himself talks about joy.
He says in 2 Corinthians 12 verse 9 on the screen,
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
Romans 5, 2-3,
We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings.
Notice that Paul often talks about joy in times when it is hard.
If you are wanting this steadfast and ongoing joy that doesn't buckle when you are crushed and afflicted,
look to Jesus.
Have your gaze firmly fixed on him.
Because what we saw earlier in the chapter that Paul gets them to look forward to the day of the Lord.
For those of you who are playing at home, that is the day that Jesus will come back
and bring an end to all things and renew them and restore them to how everything will be.
Because joy is confidence that he will make you all that you were meant to be in every fashion.
Physically, mentally, spiritually, existentially, on the day that Jesus returns.
Because do you see it?
God made you to be an awe maker.
You were created to have awe at things.
And when our awe of Jesus is diminished, what we cannot do in renewing our awe,
Jesus does it for us and will complete it when we are with him forever.
Revelation 19, verse 1 says,
After this, I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting,
Hallelujah.
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.
The end for the Christian, in fact, the end for all people, is that they worship God.
What our life, the world, is hurling towards is the adoration of the one who made us
and is the only one who is worthy of our praise.
And so to answer that question at the beginning, how am I meant to do all of life worship?
Worship is when your life becomes more about Jesus than this world.
Worship isn't just singing praise to our God, being in the Word as they are and is a pinnacle of what we are on about.
But worship is also when you willingly vacuum after Sunday kids when there is glitter all over the floor
because you were convinced that the glitter was going to help them understand the Bible.
It's when you sit under your boss talking about your work performance and listen humbly like Christ.
When you pray for the Lord's patience not to scream at your child.
It's when you keep coming to church in the hard, hard seasons or even when church is hard.
Because it's all about Jesus.
For is that not what Jesus does when he is on agony on the cross?
When he says, Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.
The true living God perseveres on the cross for his Father's will.
He doesn't scorn at you.
He doesn't sit in silence.
He prays.
He prays that your soul might know the depths of your sin, your inability to worship him,
and that your gaze may be reaffixed to his heart for you.
Because of Christ, you are free to worship.
You are free to worship anytime, anyplace, and you get to do what you were made for.
Friends, isn't that good?
Isn't it a joy that in Jesus you get to worship who you were made to worship?
I've had this question a lot from youth over the years, and it's this.
No judgment.
Ash, I understand.
God is the creator of the heavens and the earth.
Jesus died for me.
He's everything.
But I just don't want to learn about Jesus today.
Is that okay?
Have you ever felt sometimes weary about worship?
Have you felt that what the kid is saying is what you feel sometimes?
I wonder if Paul continues on reminding us that our devotion to God doesn't just start with what you put out,
but what you put in.
The inputs in your heart matter as much as your outputs.
Have a look at verse 19.
Do not quench the spirit.
Do not despise prophecies, but test everything.
Hold fast to what is good.
Abstain from every form of evil.
Why does Paul say this?
The Thessalonian church might have been constantly hearing prophecy maybe.
Maybe there was a really bad instance of prophecy.
And so Paul says, don't despise it.
And what we need to say about prophecy is that often biblical prophecy, particularly in the Old Testament,
was not just a future prediction, but a message from God.
It could be God's law, as he did with Moses.
And perhaps Paul is calling for some discernment of what they hear.
And it's worth noting briefly that prophecy is quite a divided matter between Christians today.
And I don't think scripture is quite definitive of what prophecy for us today is.
Particularly in this passage, Paul does not tell us what the prophecies are
or why he brings the matter of prophecy in verse 19 to 22.
Some people say that prophecy today is this unprompted thought that God has suddenly brought to mind.
Some people say it's the powerful preaching of the word.
But I want to park the debate.
You can speak to me or you can speak to Steve.
Sorry, Steve.
Over about morning tea.
But what I want us to listen carefully here to is the principle.
The principle is if prophecy is rooted and always rooted that it is from the word of God,
it must always be tested by the scriptures.
And I think what is clear in this passage and others what Paul writes is that these prophecies are about holding what is good
and what is in light, what is affirmed in scripture.
In other words, the principle is that whatever you hear, does it ring out the glories, the majesty, the beauty of our great God.
So that means we can apply this principle to everything.
We can apply it to our social media.
Because sometimes we take matters that we hear in our phones and podcasts as gospel.
You've heard it before, you know, the gospel of self-actualization, I am enough.
The gospel of self-care.
The gospel of health and fitness.
And I'm not saying those things aren't good things.
But have you ever considered all of the things that you hear from this world, the media, your friends,
whether you place them under the microscope and look them through a gospel lens?
Do we let the spirit work as we let him witness to the truth that aligns to his word?
If Jesus is the most ultimate thing and the ultimate matter I am to gaze my mind on,
if he is coming back, shouldn't everything I do, read and hear,
fall under my understanding and worship of him?
And I wonder if the people in our modern era, like me, despising of prophecy isn't the issue.
The thing that our brain and mind is subsumed by is the world, the internet and the media.
And so friends, let us train our eyes to look towards Jesus and his word because he is worthy.
The heart of worship is that you let all that you take in and all that you put out be shaped about Jesus.
God wants your heart.
It is his will for you in Christ Jesus.
The object of our affections in worship.
The heart of worship is Christ Jesus.
And you might say to me, it's all good and well for me to pat you on the back.
Go on, brother.
Go on, sister.
But how do I keep going in worship until Jesus comes back?
How do I keep going?
How can I be steadfast, perseverant for the next 5, 10, 20, 50 years,
however long God has got me on this earth?
Take a look at verse 23.
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely.
And may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He who calls you is faithful.
He will surely do it.
Paul starts ending this chapter with what he begun this chapter with.
The hope of the day that Jesus is coming back.
Because this is what will keep them steadfast in worship.
This is what they are to persevere in lifting their eyes to Jesus.
I was speaking to a parent recently who was considering how they parent their children
and how they always have their eyes on equipping them as individuals beyond living in the household.
So by the time that they become empty nesters,
their children are able to live in a way that they can be self-sufficient and independent as adults.
Not just doing everything for them or fixing all their problems or making them happy,
but equipping them for the future.
They've always, they're always, always thinking about the future as they love, parent and nourish their children.
They've got their eyes on the future.
And for the Christian, as you have your eyes fixed in Jesus,
you have your eyes fixed on the future that Jesus has secured for you.
For the Christian, you are always thinking about that future.
If you want worship that is steadfast,
don't take your eyes off the target.
That is the promise
that God,
in Christ Jesus,
works powerfully in you
to complete you,
to make you who you were meant to be
until he returns.
And did you see that word sanctify?
What does it mean?
Sanctify is,
sanctifying or sanctification
is the process of being set apart for God,
being made more like Christ Jesus,
set apart for worship.
And what is God sanctifying?
What is he sanctifying?
your whole spirit
and soul
and body.
Paul yearns for the church
to not be those who are idle people.
We saw that earlier in verse 14 last week.
But what he wants
is mature,
sanctified,
transformed Christians,
lovers of Christ
who are both transformed horizontally
and vertically.
He wants you to be
all in,
full throttle,
self-abandoned.
And the question now is,
how does God sanctify us?
Paul tells us
that the how
is in the who
will sanctify.
Yes,
Jesus
is
our object
of worship.
But he's not just
our object
of worship.
He is also
our agent
of change.
Verse 24,
he who calls you
is faithful.
He will surely
do it.
Jesus will
by his Holy Spirit.
Doesn't that give
anyone
more reason
to rejoice,
more reason
to pray unceasingly
if he is the one
that you ask
and long
that he will sanctify you
and make him
more like him.
And I wonder
if you've come
weary today
thinking,
I can't do it.
maybe you've heard
sermon
after sermon
this series
about the need
to be at peace
and community.
Maybe you haven't
even fully grasped
hold
of the gospel
in your heart.
The call to worship
God with both
your bodies
and your work
and you just
sense that you
are not strong
enough
to do more
or be more.
the story
of the gospel
finds its hope
and beauty
in that there is
a stronger man
than you.
There's a stronger
one than one
who can defeat
the giant apathy
in your heart.
There's a more
patient one
when you are
impatient at life
and impatient
with people
around you.
There's a more
faithful God
when you feel
so faithless.
He will
do it.
not just might
do it someday
but certainly.
Paul says
surely do it
because he wants
the Thessalonians
to have that
certainty
to not mistake
that it will not
happen
but to be certain.
Friends,
you can be certain
that Jesus
will change you.
You don't have
to be blooming
to be growing.
You don't have
to always be happy
or be in a good
season in your life
to be growing
because
you and yourself
in your own striving
cannot grow yourself
to the image
of Christ Jesus
without his Holy Spirit.
Perhaps you are
growing in Jesus
because all you have
done is remained
in him
in the hard times
because he is
the one changing you.
Where have you
seen yourself
slowly but surely
grow closer
into the image
of Christ
rather than your own?
Who in this room
have you seen
grow slowly
but surely
into the image
of Christ?
Who will you
encourage?
And I can imagine
as we talk about
these big concepts
what we can do
is get all
muddled
as what that looks
like in our
day to day.
and I think
it will be
helpful for us
to ground it
in our daily
reality.
So take this
group of flowers
imagine that
each flower
is made up
of all of
the things
you do
in one day.
Maybe
you are
packing your
school lunchbox
for you kids
doing it yourself
thank you.
Maybe you are
driving to work
through all that
traffic.
maybe you are
doing a load
of laundry.
Maybe you are
going for a walk.
Maybe you are
reading the Bible.
Maybe you are
attending a
community group.
It is done
in worship.
All of these
flowers is done
in worship
when you pray
that your kid
will shine
like a light
for Jesus
as you pack
their lunchbox.
it is when you
are patient
like our Lord
when someone
cuts you off.
It is when you
thank God
that you have
clothes to wear.
It is when you
are in awe
of your great
creator as you
see the trees
that you walk
through.
It is when you
walk past the
other runner
who is made
in God's image.
It is when you
see that God
has been so
so good to you
but so
so good
to generation
after generation
and his faithful
love for his
people.
It is when you
turn up each
week to community
group to be
an encouraging
friend that
speaks the
gospel.
And all you
do is you
hold the vase
up back to
God and give
it to him
saying thanks
God.
Thank you
that you have
given me a
life that was
made for
worship.
You have
given me
life to
live to
the full
and I
give all
this, the
experiences, the
thoughts, all
back to you
because I was
made to
worship.
Friends, what
is in your
vase?
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus,
you are the
founder and
perfecter of
our faith.
We plead
with you
knowing that
you are good
and that you
are a promise
keeper.
That you
might help us
redeem every
moment, take
every thought
captive so
that we can
lay it down
at the foot
of the cross
and say
thank you
and just
say you
are worthy,
you are
worthy, you
are worthy
of all our
praise.
holy