WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.440 Okay, for the last time we're going to look at this letter which has taken us over the 00:00:06.440 --> 00:00:07.440 summer. 00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:15.480 A letter Paul, the Apostle wrote to a young church in Thessalonica, just a growing young 00:00:15.480 --> 00:00:16.480 church. 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:21.920 And the advice he gives, the encouragement and the challenges that he brings, which God 00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:28.519 has enabled us to breathe life into so that it continues to be relevant for us in our 00:00:28.519 --> 00:00:29.519 day. 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:34.880 It's the last section and it's a great finale and it's very practical and very down to 00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:37.399 earth and maybe quite challenging for us. 00:00:37.399 --> 00:00:42.840 We don't really know specifically why Paul focused on these areas that he does. 00:00:42.840 --> 00:00:49.120 We've got a good idea that most of them are just general points that he would repeat in 00:00:49.120 --> 00:00:54.320 different letters that he wants all the churches and us to know. 00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:57.079 But there may have been issues as well within the church. 00:00:57.079 --> 00:01:03.879 Maybe they were struggling with the leadership, with God's pattern for leadership. 00:01:03.879 --> 00:01:04.879 I don't know. 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:05.879 We don't really know. 00:01:05.879 --> 00:01:09.560 There's one or two hints that we have in these last few verses. 00:01:09.560 --> 00:01:15.280 But generally he's teaching them and teaching us about the kind of things that are important 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:20.439 to God in the local church and in our Christian lives. 00:01:20.439 --> 00:01:24.680 And I think what it reminds of, what I'm going to focus on today as a kind of broader theme, 00:01:24.680 --> 00:01:29.520 which is the beautiful impossibility of being a Christian and being part of the Christian 00:01:29.520 --> 00:01:30.520 church. 00:01:30.520 --> 00:01:35.240 It's a beautiful and radical revolution that God is working in our lives. 00:01:35.240 --> 00:01:40.260 So if we talk about it spiritually, it's like God is doing heart surgery with us rather 00:01:40.260 --> 00:01:45.520 than just dabbing a little cut that we might have on our arm. 00:01:45.520 --> 00:01:49.440 He's dealing with us in a really radical way to change us. 00:01:49.440 --> 00:01:52.000 And he is saying that individually for us. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:57.480 But he's also saying that for us as a church, belonging to the church, belonging to the 00:01:57.480 --> 00:02:04.920 God's family, the local church is something that is entirely different to anything else 00:02:04.920 --> 00:02:08.199 in the world and to any other community in the world. 00:02:08.199 --> 00:02:12.920 And I think it's important for us to remember that, to remember the radical nature of being 00:02:12.920 --> 00:02:13.920 part of the church. 00:02:13.920 --> 00:02:17.639 So there's two challenges really from this passage that I want you to think about. 00:02:17.639 --> 00:02:23.359 I want you to really consider for yourselves, as I have to consider it for myself, the fundamental 00:02:23.359 --> 00:02:26.159 things that go deeper than just the passage here. 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:30.219 One is your heart and one is your church family. 00:02:30.219 --> 00:02:32.919 So these two things, the heart and church family. 00:02:32.919 --> 00:02:37.359 So I'm going to ask you a question this morning, has Christ got your heart? 00:02:37.359 --> 00:02:39.199 Has He got your heart, you know? 00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:44.079 There's a great challenge, a great part of the New Testament, the end of the New Testament 00:02:44.079 --> 00:02:47.239 revelation, where he speaks to the... God speaks to the seven churches. 00:02:47.240 --> 00:02:50.640 The first church is the church in Ephesus, and He says to them, Have you lost your first 00:02:50.640 --> 00:02:52.840 love? 00:02:52.840 --> 00:02:54.640 And I think that's a very significant thing. 00:02:54.640 --> 00:03:00.520 I don't think that just means, have you lost the kind of love you first had for Jesus when 00:03:00.520 --> 00:03:02.439 you became a Christian? 00:03:02.439 --> 00:03:07.640 You know, like when we talk about, you know, that early love that we have in life and as 00:03:07.640 --> 00:03:08.640 Christians as well. 00:03:08.640 --> 00:03:16.600 I don't think it's just first in terms of when it happened, historically as it were. 00:03:16.599 --> 00:03:17.759 I think it means more than that. 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:21.879 It means first as in terms of priority. 00:03:21.879 --> 00:03:27.159 Have we lost Jesus to the priority that He should have in our lives? 00:03:27.159 --> 00:03:28.759 And that's an ongoing thing, isn't it? 00:03:28.759 --> 00:03:34.079 Because some of us look back and think, I'm not sure how much I loved Him at the beginning. 00:03:34.079 --> 00:03:36.359 And maybe we're hoping that our love grows, don't we? 00:03:36.359 --> 00:03:41.039 So maybe it's not so much about our historic first love, but as much as that priority of 00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:43.560 giving Him first place. 00:03:43.560 --> 00:03:47.000 Because it's easy, isn't it, the longer we go on as Christians, I think the easier it 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:53.319 can be to relegate Him, to not be excited by what Neil was talking about, the beautiful 00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:56.640 revelation and theology of God and of His truth. 00:03:56.640 --> 00:04:01.840 It's easy for us, it becomes, I think, easier for us to keep Him out of our heart, in other 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:02.840 words. 00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:04.640 And the heart, what is the heart? 00:04:04.640 --> 00:04:07.080 The heart's the seat of our will. 00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:09.800 It's our control center. 00:04:09.800 --> 00:04:14.439 That's what motivates our life and what's important to us. 00:04:14.439 --> 00:04:20.040 And what is first place in our heart is what controls us and what motivates us and what 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:21.040 moves us. 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:27.680 And so it's possible for us as Christians to come to an uneasy truth, to keep the Christian 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:31.680 faith that we have manageable, just to keep it manageable. 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:39.519 And we do that by keeping Jesus at arm's length and not allowing Him free reign in our hearts. 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:45.240 Too dangerous to give Jesus Christ all of your heart, because we don't really believe 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:47.120 we're so bad. 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:49.319 We don't really believe He's so good. 00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:55.079 And we certainly are not convinced of the depth of His love for us, so we keep the first 00:04:55.079 --> 00:05:01.279 place in our heart and our will to ourselves. 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:05.759 His love in our lives is not enough for us to pray, your will be done, not mine, which 00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:09.079 we prayed at the beginning and the Lord's prayer in many ways. 00:05:09.079 --> 00:05:16.399 So I'm just asking you, because I've had to ask myself and continue to, about our hearts. 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:18.039 You can only do that today. 00:05:18.039 --> 00:05:23.079 But also I'm going to ask you about your church family and your understanding of that. 00:05:23.079 --> 00:05:33.240 Other people, ug, messy, awkward, demanding, critical, unfriendly, failing, not my style. 00:05:33.240 --> 00:05:35.759 They're not like me, the people in church. 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:37.439 I can't do it. 00:05:37.439 --> 00:05:41.079 I'm tired of the church as a failed institution. 00:05:41.079 --> 00:05:44.959 It's just an added burden to my already complicated life. 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:50.439 Lord God, please take this cup from me of belonging to a church. 00:05:50.439 --> 00:05:58.759 Please make a disposable cup, because it's too hard to love like Jesus. 00:05:58.759 --> 00:06:03.519 It's too hard to give my heart and soul, not just to Jesus, but to others like me. 00:06:03.519 --> 00:06:10.159 And I'm saying that's good, that's good, that's impossible, isn't it? 00:06:10.159 --> 00:06:11.159 It's impossible. 00:06:11.159 --> 00:06:18.120 If church is just for us that friendship circle with a common interest, then it's just like 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:19.519 any other community. 00:06:19.519 --> 00:06:24.439 See, any other community has the same kind of characteristics. 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:29.479 But the hallmark of the church is we are people who recognize and are living out impossible 00:06:29.480 --> 00:06:34.600 grace not only by our love for God and giving Him our heart, but our love for one another. 00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:35.759 And we need God for that. 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:37.280 That's great. 00:06:37.280 --> 00:06:40.080 That's where we want to get to, recognizing we need God. 00:06:40.080 --> 00:06:44.800 So today what I want to do just for a moment is for us to reimagine the walk of faith in 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:50.640 the light of giving God our hearts and our attitude to one another in Christian community. 00:06:50.640 --> 00:06:56.879 And I want you to rethink maybe if you need to, because I know I need to all the time, 00:06:56.879 --> 00:07:05.959 like the walk or the race or the run of faith, however you want to describe it. 00:07:05.959 --> 00:07:10.560 Rethink it so it's not a solo hill climb, because you might think of the Christian walk 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:16.399 as like climbing a mountain on your own with maybe some people around about also climbing, 00:07:16.399 --> 00:07:19.079 but you're aiming just to get to the top and you're focused on that. 00:07:19.079 --> 00:07:22.800 Move away from that way of thinking about the Christian life to thinking of it much 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:25.360 more like a tough mother, mother. 00:07:25.360 --> 00:07:26.560 You know, a tough mother event. 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:32.439 You know, these are these events where there's a whole lot of physical challenges and things 00:07:32.439 --> 00:07:36.120 you have to do and you have to go through mud and climb up stuff. 00:07:36.120 --> 00:07:42.360 But you do it as a team and you never finish it until everyone in the team is finished. 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:46.560 So it's, you take away the kind of, there's a, at one level you take away the competitive 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:48.480 individuality of it. 00:07:48.480 --> 00:07:51.480 There's still individuals, but you're part of a team together. 00:07:51.480 --> 00:07:57.360 And I want you to think of the Christian life like a tough mother event, okay? 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:00.720 Just a different illustration. 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:06.800 We do live in a relentlessly individualistic age and I think that's a challenge. 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:10.120 Where Christianity is about our private piety. 00:08:10.120 --> 00:08:11.120 It's a solo run. 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:15.879 When I was in school, it was many, many years ago, one of the English literature books that 00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:21.600 we read was the loneliness of the long distance runner by Alonso Sletto. 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:24.480 And that's I think how we often think of the Christian life. 00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:28.120 It's a lonely individual race on our own. 00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:32.559 That is simply not a New Testament picture. 00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:35.320 It's not the New Testament picture that we're given. 00:08:35.320 --> 00:08:40.720 And I want to challenge you and challenge myself from Scripture because we've relegated 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:45.480 the idea of being individuals as part of a team. 00:08:45.480 --> 00:08:51.279 We have institutionalized or formalized church into the long grass of our lives so that it's 00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:53.159 not significant. 00:08:53.159 --> 00:08:58.920 It's much more nuanced than that in the New Testament that we are definitely individuals. 00:08:58.920 --> 00:09:06.519 It speaks a lot in this letter about you, you, you, you, you as individuals in the singular. 00:09:06.519 --> 00:09:11.240 But it also speaks all the time about brothers and sisters, about being together, about being 00:09:11.240 --> 00:09:14.920 part of a family, about part of a community. 00:09:14.919 --> 00:09:15.919 Very central. 00:09:15.919 --> 00:09:22.199 Once we were not a people, now we are a people and we are a people moving forward together. 00:09:22.199 --> 00:09:23.199 He is the head. 00:09:23.199 --> 00:09:26.120 We're the body together of Jesus Christ. 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:29.839 Most of the letters in the New Testament are not written to individuals, and even when 00:09:29.839 --> 00:09:33.120 they are, they were written to individuals who were leaders in churches. 00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:39.799 Most of them read to churches. 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:46.120 And I think that's a challenge, one that's exercised me as we come out of a pandemic where 00:09:46.120 --> 00:09:50.799 we've been forced kind of into an individualism, again, of watching things at home and being 00:09:50.799 --> 00:09:55.120 on our own as Christians and all of, all of, sometimes the comfort and the enjoyment of 00:09:55.120 --> 00:09:56.120 that. 00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:59.639 Don't have to get up, don't have to dress up, don't have to go out to church. 00:09:59.639 --> 00:10:04.399 Don't have to find a different way to get to St. Columbus, which means avoiding 73 different 00:10:04.399 --> 00:10:07.240 roads and eventually getting there. 00:10:07.240 --> 00:10:12.039 And it's challenging and it's attractive for us. 00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:18.560 But that whole idea of privatization, including privatization of religion is something we 00:10:18.560 --> 00:10:21.159 need to challenge from God's Word in many ways. 00:10:21.159 --> 00:10:26.399 And I think sometimes even repent of. 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:34.279 So just breaking down this short section here, that was a really, really long introduction. 00:10:34.279 --> 00:10:37.399 You'll be glad to know that the rest of it will not be quite as long. 00:10:37.399 --> 00:10:42.079 I'll only go until we have to pay for parking outside. 00:10:42.079 --> 00:10:43.399 Okay. 00:10:43.399 --> 00:10:49.600 So the practical implications that Paul brings out here to the church then and now are great. 00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:54.879 I particularly love the first section, verses 12 and 13. 00:10:54.879 --> 00:10:59.199 And the commandeer is, super love your leaders. 00:10:59.199 --> 00:11:00.199 Super love them. 00:11:00.200 --> 00:11:05.920 Now, I actually hate this one because it's, I don't like preaching from it. 00:11:05.920 --> 00:11:09.480 But it says, we ask you brothers and sisters, respect those who labor among you and are 00:11:09.480 --> 00:11:11.200 over you in the Lord and in monashute. 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:16.720 And to esteem them very highly in love for their work be at peace among yourselves. 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:21.000 So the command here is for the individuals within the church community to love their 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:23.000 leaders. 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:27.320 Know them, love them, take them into your heart. 00:11:27.320 --> 00:11:28.320 Understand them. 00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:31.000 And you have to understand your people. 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:35.480 And it's not to be a kind of, I suppose if God says, I better do it. 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:38.760 It's not to be a grudging obedience. 00:11:38.760 --> 00:11:45.480 It's to be super highly, superlative that's used here. 00:11:45.480 --> 00:11:49.240 It says, esteem them very highly. 00:11:49.240 --> 00:11:53.200 And the word that's used there has hyper at the beginning of it where we get hyperactive 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:57.840 from, superactive or hyper, whatever else. 00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:06.360 And he's saying, be super, super loving and esteem them in a super way for the sake of 00:12:06.360 --> 00:12:09.920 the gospel, the sake of the gospel. 00:12:09.920 --> 00:12:11.440 And you will know gospel peace. 00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:14.080 What can I say about that? 00:12:14.080 --> 00:12:15.080 That's impossible. 00:12:15.080 --> 00:12:20.000 It's impossible to do that normally and naturally. 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:23.480 Love them. 00:12:23.480 --> 00:12:29.399 And leaders, you've got an impossible task, we've got an impossible task also as leaders. 00:12:29.399 --> 00:12:33.840 And if we're not prayerful and dependent on the Holy Spirit and God's grace, we are 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:38.800 nothing and all will collapse around us. 00:12:38.800 --> 00:12:43.680 We are desperately in need of God's grace as leaders. 00:12:43.680 --> 00:12:46.600 And as people, it's impossible to love your leaders. 00:12:46.600 --> 00:12:47.600 Sure it is. 00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:48.600 Sure it is. 00:12:48.600 --> 00:12:56.560 Your leaders are full of failure, are sinners saved by grace and preachers as preachers 00:12:56.560 --> 00:12:57.560 we fail. 00:12:57.560 --> 00:13:04.840 And it's easy sometimes for I think congregations as well to project their unhappiness onto 00:13:04.840 --> 00:13:10.879 the people at the front, the people that make the decisions, the people that lead. 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:12.720 It's easy to do that. 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:14.720 Those who are visible. 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:19.240 And it's such a challenge this for us. 00:13:19.240 --> 00:13:24.519 Such a challenge for us to be so close as a people, leaders and people together, pastoral 00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:33.120 teams, city groups and everything that we do in order to be respectful and courageous 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:39.200 and honest as leaders and people together with one another as we have in these words. 00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:41.200 But that will lead us to a godly peace. 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:43.080 It's different from the peace of the graveyard. 00:13:43.080 --> 00:13:44.080 It's not like that. 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:50.840 It's a godly peace where not necessarily that we never have conflict. 00:13:50.840 --> 00:13:55.000 You know, we can be terribly easily avoiding conflict but that we deal with it in a gracious 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:56.000 and loving way. 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:59.000 You know, sometimes when things go wrong with the church and with the leadership, you just 00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:00.000 walk away, don't you? 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:01.000 Just walk away. 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:03.440 Well, I might try somewhere else now. 00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:09.120 But the idea is not to do that and not to grumble about them with others but to love 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:15.159 them and deal with issues if they are issues that need to be dealt with because we struggle 00:14:15.159 --> 00:14:19.759 as well and we know everyone struggles as leaders. 00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:20.759 We struggle. 00:14:20.759 --> 00:14:23.759 You know, as a minister, I struggle. 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:28.360 I'm always amazed at people think because I preach the gospel and study the gospel that 00:14:28.360 --> 00:14:35.960 I have no problems and difficulties and all that I preach, I've sussed out and got right. 00:14:35.960 --> 00:14:41.519 You preachers battle, preachers are tempted and preachers fail. 00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:48.080 You don't realize how much I die every Sunday morning and how much weight I lose every Sunday 00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:54.920 morning before preaching with the fear and the trepidation of that. 00:14:54.920 --> 00:14:56.720 So super love your leaders. 00:14:56.720 --> 00:15:04.519 And then the second thing in verses 14 and 15 is in our interaction with one another. 00:15:04.519 --> 00:15:08.120 So it's leaders then, one another, our dear brothers, admonish the idol, encourage the 00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:12.360 faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with them all, see that no one repays evil for 00:15:12.360 --> 00:15:18.519 evil but always do good, always do good to one another and to everyone. 00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:21.079 It's amazing, isn't it? 00:15:21.079 --> 00:15:25.240 This picture he gives of individuals in community. 00:15:25.240 --> 00:15:31.519 What kind of Christian community do we need to be in Christ that will allow us to live 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:33.759 like this? 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:35.360 It's not easy, isn't it? 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:39.840 It's not just saying have a cup of coffee together, go to the cinema together, do great 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:40.840 things. 00:15:40.840 --> 00:15:46.600 All of these things, important though they are, they're reminding us of deep seated and 00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:49.840 committed relationships with one another. 00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:58.439 The ability to give and take spiritual warnings, to encourage the timid and the worried and 00:15:58.439 --> 00:16:03.120 the discouraged and the fearful, those that are lacking in confidence. 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:07.759 Now how will we do that unless we know them? 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:14.440 And if we know the difference between those who are maybe spiritually idle, careless, 00:16:14.440 --> 00:16:19.000 and those who are just struggling, we have to be patient with all. 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:24.480 Isn't that a great thing for a church community to consider when we're in a group to get how 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:26.200 easy, isn't it for us? 00:16:26.200 --> 00:16:30.600 How easy, particularly maybe for ministers and leaders to be impatient, and yet we're 00:16:30.600 --> 00:16:35.960 asked to deal with that and repent of the impatience that must be in our lives. 00:16:35.960 --> 00:16:40.519 And you know sometimes you'll look at a passage like this and you think, well that's for the 00:16:40.519 --> 00:16:46.279 really spiritually elite, the mature among everyone, but no, it's for absolutely everyone. 00:16:46.279 --> 00:16:49.920 There is no elite within the church. 00:16:49.920 --> 00:16:54.960 And one of the things I'm going to focus on between now and Christmas time I think is 00:16:54.960 --> 00:17:02.519 discipleship and that gospeling of one another, that ability to talk to each other about Jesus 00:17:02.519 --> 00:17:06.880 and about our what with Jesus and our battles and our struggles and our fears and our temptations 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:10.920 in the way that we interact with one another. 00:17:10.920 --> 00:17:12.920 So our interactions with one another. 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:19.840 Then there's also our shared characteristics from verse 16 to 22, rejoice always, pray without 00:17:19.840 --> 00:17:24.920 ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, don't quench the spirit, don't despise prophecies. 00:17:24.920 --> 00:17:26.960 Test everything, abstain from every evil. 00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:33.400 It's just a waterfall, it's a smorgasbord of commands and encouragements that are coming 00:17:33.400 --> 00:17:40.080 out and we have shared characteristics in the way that we help each other live out God's 00:17:40.080 --> 00:17:41.080 will. 00:17:41.080 --> 00:17:43.160 You struggle with God's will, what is God's will for me? 00:17:43.160 --> 00:17:44.680 What's God's will for the church? 00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:50.120 Well, we're told here, give thanks, among the other things, in all circumstances. 00:17:50.120 --> 00:17:53.680 This is the will of God in Christ for you. 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:58.240 So we have here God's will for us, not my will, but yours be done. 00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:04.120 And He wants us to be both individually and as we help one another, He wants us to be 00:18:04.120 --> 00:18:05.400 joyful in our lives. 00:18:05.400 --> 00:18:10.720 Now that doesn't mean slapstick smiles, it means a deep-seated recognition of who we 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:14.840 are and where we are and who loves us. 00:18:14.840 --> 00:18:21.000 Now we've come out just over this like everyone out of the pandemic, it's been a difficult 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:23.120 18 months. 00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:29.519 We've lost 40 or so people who have moved away and leaders and others and John and Thomas 00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:31.799 and their families and everyone else. 00:18:31.799 --> 00:18:38.399 And yet the general attitude that prevails is one of that God's with us and we're moving 00:18:38.399 --> 00:18:43.199 forward and we're not to grumble because of these things, we're to reflect joyfully that 00:18:43.199 --> 00:18:48.759 He's taken us through it and we're to be thankful even in difficult circumstances because we 00:18:48.759 --> 00:18:57.839 know that these are not the ultimate circumstances that govern our lives and we are to be praying 00:18:57.839 --> 00:18:58.839 without ceasing. 00:18:58.839 --> 00:19:02.640 We all say that, how can anyone do that? 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:07.039 It's an attitude of prayer but it's also this recognition that as a people, as a church, 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:12.079 I don't care what else, if God allows me to go for another three years praise, praise 00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:19.519 be to God and unfortunate for the rest of you but all I want is this to be a prayerful 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:20.519 church. 00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:21.519 That's the really big thing. 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:26.559 That's all I want is to be a prayerful, because if we're a prayerful church together, everything 00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:31.839 else will fall into place by God's will just to keep being a prayerful, not to think, well, 00:19:31.839 --> 00:19:38.439 I can pray in my own but to be a prayerful people together, to recognize we're a body 00:19:38.440 --> 00:19:44.880 together and that we need the glue and the cement and whatever else you call it of the 00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:50.360 Spirit of God in prayer together because it's impossible to be a church without that. 00:19:50.360 --> 00:19:52.799 It's impossible, we can't do it. 00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:59.240 And so that would be my plea, that you make that your absolute priority in church, that 00:19:59.240 --> 00:20:05.840 we are a people who are praying without ceasing and then we will begin to rejoice and also 00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:13.359 be thankful and that will be attractive in a world that is struggling and dark and individualistic 00:20:13.359 --> 00:20:19.759 and suicidal in so many different ways. 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:26.240 And these are not unique characteristics to Timothy, to this letter in Thessalonica. 00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:30.359 You'll find them again and again throughout the New Testament. 00:20:30.359 --> 00:20:35.319 So our shared characteristics are helping to live out God's will. 00:20:35.319 --> 00:20:36.960 This is God's will for you. 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:43.200 But also by fighting, okay, fighting together spiritually. 00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:50.319 You may think it's a bad use of word or bad illustration but we've got that 19 to 22. 00:20:50.319 --> 00:20:54.679 Don't quench the Spirit, don't despise prophecies, test everything, hold on to what is fast, 00:20:54.679 --> 00:20:58.799 abstain from every form of evil. 00:20:58.799 --> 00:21:04.119 And there's that great picture of the Holy Spirit in our lives, in our community and 00:21:04.119 --> 00:21:06.279 talking about the fire of the Holy Spirit. 00:21:06.279 --> 00:21:12.199 Don't quench the Holy Spirit and that idea of God's fire in our bellies. 00:21:12.199 --> 00:21:19.399 Now the Bible talks a lot about that, about the fire of the Spirit and the Spirit signifying 00:21:19.399 --> 00:21:24.719 His passion, His purity and His presence with us. 00:21:24.719 --> 00:21:28.119 And that's what we have as Christians. 00:21:28.119 --> 00:21:34.799 If you have, go back to the beginning and remember chapter 1 verse 5, the gospel came 00:21:34.799 --> 00:21:41.000 to you not only in word but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:45.479 See, that's what He's remembering, that's what He's knowing and that's what He's asking 00:21:45.479 --> 00:21:53.519 them not to quench, not to resist and not to dampen that work of the Spirit. 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:55.639 And that's a fight. 00:21:55.639 --> 00:21:56.639 That's a fight for us. 00:21:56.639 --> 00:21:57.639 Why is it a fight? 00:21:57.640 --> 00:22:05.040 Because we still battle with the desires to go our own way and to fail without recognizing 00:22:05.040 --> 00:22:06.920 who Jesus is. 00:22:06.920 --> 00:22:14.120 As we are contentious maybe of church or preaching or the Bible or the gifts of other people 00:22:14.120 --> 00:22:20.000 and their ability to speak into your lives spiritually, the advice they might give you 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:25.600 and you walk away from it, the warnings, the encouragements, the challenges, that's where 00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:31.079 we're in danger of quenching God's fire among us when we're not willing to be sharpened 00:22:31.079 --> 00:22:34.199 as iron, sharpened as iron, not willing to be exposed. 00:22:34.199 --> 00:22:37.079 Do you think you're maybe going the wrong way here? 00:22:37.079 --> 00:22:39.919 Do you think maybe this isn't the right path for you? 00:22:39.919 --> 00:22:45.679 But of course, doesn't that need to be done so sensitively and lovingly rather than a 00:22:45.679 --> 00:22:51.279 kind of pointing the finger which makes it impossible, which is why we need God and the 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:53.039 Spirit in our lives. 00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:59.759 So there's that whole need not to dampen the Spirit's work in our lives by being critical 00:22:59.759 --> 00:23:08.159 of one another, distant, unloving, careless or disengaged from each other or from God. 00:23:08.159 --> 00:23:13.200 And you might think how you live your Christian life away from the church doesn't matter 00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:20.039 or doesn't affect the church or your presence or lack of presence doesn't matter. 00:23:20.039 --> 00:23:27.240 People don't notice or care, but it's about recognizing family together and the importance 00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:34.839 of what we gain from each other as well as what you give to other people in the Christian 00:23:34.839 --> 00:23:38.720 church. 00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:45.799 Presence, passion and the purity of God through His Spirit don't quench it. 00:23:45.799 --> 00:23:50.720 So fighting, we've got to fight together because it's tough. 00:23:50.720 --> 00:23:52.839 You know, we're in the trenches together. 00:23:52.839 --> 00:23:53.839 It's a tough mudder. 00:23:53.839 --> 00:23:57.559 There's some people who have probably done the tough mudder and know what it's like and 00:23:57.559 --> 00:24:03.720 know that we need to support and help one another to focus on God and His presence. 00:24:03.720 --> 00:24:08.480 And also, as we conclude, just to telling each other about God's purposes from 23 to 00:24:08.480 --> 00:24:12.519 28, finishes with reminding us who God is. 00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:13.799 God Himself, isn't that great? 00:24:13.799 --> 00:24:14.799 God Himself. 00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:16.559 It's not God's angel. 00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:19.200 It's not God's somehow other representative. 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:24.359 It's not just a minister or it's not just a fellow Christian, but He says God Himself 00:24:24.359 --> 00:24:25.440 will sanctify you. 00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:26.440 And that's what He's doing. 00:24:26.440 --> 00:24:28.919 That's what He's doing in our lives. 00:24:28.919 --> 00:24:30.720 And He will keep you. 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:33.799 He'll keep you body and soul. 00:24:33.799 --> 00:24:38.319 And He'll keep you blameless because you're covered in the righteousness of Jesus as a 00:24:38.319 --> 00:24:39.319 Christian. 00:24:39.319 --> 00:24:41.200 That is amazing truth for us. 00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:43.799 Until Jesus comes back, we sung about that earlier. 00:24:43.799 --> 00:24:45.240 Until Jesus comes back. 00:24:45.240 --> 00:24:48.039 And He says, Who has called you faithful? 00:24:48.039 --> 00:24:50.200 So you know, we think, oh, it's a struggle. 00:24:50.200 --> 00:24:51.200 It's a battle. 00:24:51.200 --> 00:24:52.200 It's difficult. 00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:53.200 Yeah, it is. 00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:54.519 But it's not in our own strength. 00:24:54.519 --> 00:24:55.519 We're doing it. 00:24:55.519 --> 00:24:59.079 And it's, the end is guaranteed. 00:24:59.079 --> 00:25:05.399 How great would it be to do a tough mudder race if you could see yourself with your team 00:25:05.399 --> 00:25:08.279 at the end of it, having done it? 00:25:08.279 --> 00:25:09.279 Guaranteed. 00:25:09.279 --> 00:25:12.759 It would make the difficult bits a bit easier, I think. 00:25:12.759 --> 00:25:18.279 And well, we can do that as Christians because He says, look, I am faithful. 00:25:18.279 --> 00:25:20.599 I will surely do it for you. 00:25:20.599 --> 00:25:23.279 He's going to keep us. 00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:24.279 And that's great. 00:25:24.279 --> 00:25:25.680 He's in the process. 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:27.319 He's with us as a church. 00:25:27.319 --> 00:25:33.000 He's with us in our leadership and in our failures as we go to Him and seek to bring 00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:34.160 grace into them. 00:25:34.160 --> 00:25:36.960 He's covered us and we're safe with Him. 00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:37.960 And it's great truth. 00:25:37.960 --> 00:25:39.799 And tell one another these truths. 00:25:39.799 --> 00:25:40.799 We need to hear them. 00:25:40.799 --> 00:25:44.399 We need to build one another up with these truths. 00:25:44.399 --> 00:25:45.399 With these truths. 00:25:45.399 --> 00:25:49.480 So, what's the conclusion of it all? 00:25:49.480 --> 00:25:59.720 Well, I'm on a WhatsApp group with the Winchborough core team because I was helping over the last 00:25:59.720 --> 00:26:03.000 18 months with that core team. 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:09.000 And one of the great things that I love about that WhatsApp group, I don't know if I've 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:14.799 said this before, is that after preaching or maybe after hearing a message or being 00:26:14.799 --> 00:26:19.480 in church together or doing a Bible study, very often the question will come up on the 00:26:19.480 --> 00:26:20.480 WhatsApp group. 00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:21.480 What's your takeaway? 00:26:21.480 --> 00:26:26.119 And they're not meaning the Chinese or the Indian. 00:26:26.119 --> 00:26:28.359 What's your takeaway from this sermon? 00:26:28.359 --> 00:26:32.359 What was your takeaway from this message? 00:26:32.359 --> 00:26:35.799 What is it you've learned as God has interacted with you? 00:26:35.799 --> 00:26:40.799 Because that's what we're looking for, isn't it, that we recognize that this isn't passive, 00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:41.960 rub on about that one again. 00:26:41.960 --> 00:26:44.119 It's not passive. 00:26:44.119 --> 00:26:50.879 You're responding to God's Word as it's preached and as you read it and as you hear it. 00:26:50.879 --> 00:26:53.440 What's your takeaway today? 00:26:53.440 --> 00:26:58.399 Do you ever think about a takeaway from church, from the message? 00:26:58.399 --> 00:26:59.599 What's God saying to me? 00:26:59.599 --> 00:27:03.000 Uniquely to me, because nobody else knows the circumstances you have. 00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:04.559 What is God's message? 00:27:04.559 --> 00:27:05.919 What's God's takeaway for me? 00:27:05.919 --> 00:27:10.440 Can I ask you, who is it that has your heart? 00:27:10.440 --> 00:27:11.919 Who has your heart? 00:27:11.919 --> 00:27:14.440 Who owns your heart? 00:27:14.440 --> 00:27:19.440 Who owns that first place in love and grace? 00:27:19.440 --> 00:27:24.679 Do you need possibly today to take a step of faith for the first time to Jesus Christ? 00:27:24.679 --> 00:27:33.279 Do we consider the level of trust and love and honesty and commitment that He wants us 00:27:33.279 --> 00:27:39.960 to have as a people so that we can speak into each other's lives in an honest and gracious 00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:46.920 way and not take the huff or not be judgmental whichever way we look at it? 00:27:46.920 --> 00:27:57.240 What is your understanding of the church of Jesus Christ? 00:27:57.240 --> 00:27:59.359 Are we quenching His Spirit? 00:27:59.359 --> 00:28:07.399 These are all questions that we need to consider in the takeaway of the message and look to 00:28:07.399 --> 00:28:11.839 each time we are under God's Word, whether it's in our own private reading of Scripture 00:28:11.839 --> 00:28:18.799 or church or Bible or whatever it is, how is God transforming and changing my life and 00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:25.439 my thinking so that I love Him more and love one another more? 00:28:25.440 --> 00:28:32.120 I'm blessed and no peace as a result, as a repent and turn and change. 00:28:32.120 --> 00:28:34.000 That's what He wants from us. 00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:38.759 He's the Master Surgeon and He's doing a great work in our lives if we allow Him into our 00:28:38.759 --> 00:28:47.600 heart to transform it and move beyond that kind of place where we protect ourselves from 00:28:47.599 --> 00:28:55.719 His outstanding light which sometimes pierces the darkness that remains to be dealt with 00:28:55.719 --> 00:28:56.719 in our lives. 00:28:56.719 --> 00:28:59.079 So let's pray as we think about that this morning. 00:28:59.079 --> 00:29:07.439 Father, we ask and pray that you would bless your Word to us. 00:29:07.439 --> 00:29:09.839 All of us recognize that we all come under it. 00:29:09.839 --> 00:29:17.359 It's not the preacher preaching to the people as one above or with the answers, but preacher 00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:25.279 and hearer alike need to be transformed and changed, people and leaders alike in our interactions, 00:29:25.279 --> 00:29:31.559 in our lives, in our priorities, in our thinking and living. 00:29:31.559 --> 00:29:33.479 Bless us as we do so. 00:29:33.479 --> 00:29:36.519 Help us to know that it's a battle. 00:29:36.519 --> 00:29:43.879 Know that sometimes we are tempted to quench you and to hold on to our hearts. 00:29:43.880 --> 00:29:51.480 But help us to know that that is a dangerous and unpeaceful place to be. 00:29:51.480 --> 00:29:53.400 We ask it in Jesus' name. 00:29:53.400 --> 00:30:14.240 Amen.