I THESSALONIANS
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Please turn in your Bibles this evening to I Thessalonians chapter 5 as we continue our study through the Word of God and we finish up Paul’s letter to the church in Thessalonica. Last week we began a section dealing with how the church is to walk, practical lessons of what we as Christians are to do, how we are to live. This is, in a sense, where the rubber meets the road! In I Thessalonians chapter 4 Paul showed us how the church was to walk In Holiness – I Thessalonians 4:1-8; In Love – I Thessalonians 4:9-10; In Honesty – I Thessalonians 4:11-12; In Hope – I Thessalonians 4:13-18.
This evening, as we move into chapter 5 of I Thessalonians Paul is going to show us how the church is to walk In Light – I Thessalonians 5:1-11; In Gratitude – I Thessalonians 5:12-13; and In Obedience – I Thessalonians 5:14-28. With that as our basic outline, let’s begin reading in I Thessalonians chapter 5, starting in verse 1 and see what the Lord has for us this evening.
Back in I Thessalonians 4:13-18 Paul spoke of the Rapture of the church or the sudden removal of believers from this earth as we will meet the Lord in the air. Here in chapter 5 Paul is not speaking of the Rapture of the church but the Day of the Lord, which is not one specific day but a period of time.
The Day of the Lord begins right after the Rapture of the church through the tribulation period, the Kingdom Age and the creation of a new heavens and a new earth that will be eternal. You can read of the tribulation period in Revelation 6:1-19:16. In Malachi 4:1-6 it is speaking of the second coming of Christ. In Zechariah 14:1-8 it is speaking of the tribulation period leading into the Kingdom Age. And in II Peter 3:8-10 we see the creation of a new heavens and a new earth, eternal. All this is part of that period of time known as the Day of the Lord that the Scriptures speak of.
What I also want you to notice is that Paul no longer says “we” as he did when he was speaking of the Rapture but he says “they,” the unbelievers he is speaking of here. Why is that? Because the church is gone before the Tribulation period starts as the church age comes to an end and God deals with the nation of Israel once again to finish the last 7 year period of time that He spoke of in Daniel chapter 9. Also, during the Tribulation period God will pour out His wrath on a Christ rejecting world, His judgment will be poured out!
As the church is removed and the world is trying to recover from a nuclear war in the Middle East as Russia and her Muslim allies come down against Israel, you can read of this in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39, God destroys this invading army but the world is in chaos! That allows a man to be thrust on the scene and placed into a world power position because he has the answers not only to the problems of war, but economic, environmental, and-so-on. This man is known as the Antichrist and for the first 3½ years there is a pseudo peace and safety in the world before sudden destruction is unleashed! Those last 3½ years known as the Great Tribulation are horrible; no one will be able to escape what is coming! In fact, it is put in a double negative to stress the fact that trying to flee will be futile! And Paul likens the Tribulation period to a woman in labor. Her pains may start out light and far apart but as the birth of the baby gets closer the pains become harder and closer together until the baby is born, there is no escaping it! So too with the tribulation period and what is birthed from this labor is the Kingdom Age as Jesus Christ rules and reigns on this earth for 1,000 years!
In regards to the Rapture of the church, there are no signs to tell us how close we are. But we are given many signs as to the Day of the Lord and the start of the tribulation period. Thus, if the tribulation period is close, so too is the coming of the Lord for His bride, the church. It is tragic that many churches don’t teach on this subject, many Christians are unaware of what is coming. In Matthew 16:1-3 we are told, “Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, ‘When it is evening you say, “It will be fair weather, for the sky is red”; and in the morning, “It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.” Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.’ And He left them and departed.”
Also, in Luke 19:41-44 we are told, “Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.’”
Jesus rebuked them because they did not know what time it was on God’s prophetic time clock! The day of the coming of the Messiah was at hand, He stood before them and they did not see Him! Folks, we are living in the days when the Lord could return at any moment for His church, His bride! We need to wake up and take notice of the days we are living in, for the trumpet is being prepared to sound!
Why should we not be overtaken by this day of judgment? Because we are no longer children of darkness, we are children of light in Christ and thus, we will not be overtaken by the Day of the Lord in regards to His judgment because we will be removed before it begins. I do realize that some Christians believe we will go through part or all of the Tribulation period, but I don’t think the Scriptures support that. Jesus said in Revelation 3:10, “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.” You see, we are not earth dwellers, our citizenship is in heaven and we will be kept out of this judgment that is to come upon the earth dwellers!
Before God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness, righteous Lot was removed. In Genesis 19:22 the angel said to Lot, “‘Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.’ Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.” The judgment of God could not be poured out until righteous Lot was removed! And in II Peter 2:6-9 we are told of this incident, “and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds) — then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment.” Thus, before God pours out His judgment upon a Christ rejecting world, His people, His bride will be removed!
It is not time to be apathetic, lethargic in our spiritual lives. We need to be alert, we need to be watching. Yes, the unsaved have an eat, drink and be merry mentality because they are willfully ignorant of the judgment that is to come. But we are not of the night but of the day and may we act accordingly for in this world of spiritual darkness, we are a light to shine forth Jesus! Paul, in II Corinthians 3:3-6 tells us, “clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” As people look at our lives what are they reading? You see, we are living epistles or letters of Christ and as people read us, examine our lives, they should see Jesus!
Because we are in a spiritual battle, we must put on our spiritual armor and Paul speaks of the breastplate of faith and love. The breastplate covered the vital organs of the solider. Faith speaks of trusting in God, that we don’t have to worry because God is in control of all things. That inward reality is then manifested outward in our actions – they are done in love! You see, our faith in God is seen in our love towards Him and then is manifested in our love towards others. Then there is the helmet of salvation which protects our mind. In the context here, Paul is not speaking of salvation or sanctification but our future glorification – God will complete the work He has begun in us!
Of this John MacArthur tells us, “When faith is weak, love grows cold. When love grows cold, hope is lost. When hope in God’s promise of future glory is weak, believers are vulnerable to temptation and sin. Only those who keep the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of the hope of salvation firmly in place can resist effectively the onslaught of the forces of darkness.” It is as John said, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” I John 3:1-3.
Before we were saved we were condemned and awaiting God’s judgment but now that we are children of God we are no longer appointed for judgment but salvation through Christ. Paul put it this way in II Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” That is the basis for our salvation; we are saved by Grace through faith and not by the Law through works.
Now when Paul speaks of being awake in Christ or asleep in Christ is he speaking of those who are alive and those who have died in Christ or those who are spiritually awake and those who are lethargic in their faith? Both do fit because our salvation is based on His finished work, not what we have done or didn’t do. The thing is this, if you are spiritually lethargic you are missing out on so much! God’s desire for you is to be awake and used by Him for His glory and thus, Paul admonishes us in Romans 13:11-14, “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” It is time to awake, may you heed the warning!
Remember when the year 2000 came and all computer’s were to shut down, all our missile defense systems would fail, we would be in chaos with all kinds of looting as people tried to get food and essentials to live by and they could not get money from the bank? What I found interesting was that the world was at ease while Christians were in a panic. I knew people who headed for the hills, bought land in the middle of nowhere, protected themselves as they tried to find comfort. That is the exact opposite of what Paul told the Thessalonians. He told them to bring the comfort of God to the brethren and to the unsaved as you share Jesus with them. Build people up in the faith. You see, in doing that you will be comforted, you yourself will be built up. Remember what Paul just said, “But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.” I Thessalonians 5:8. Folks, no matter how bad things might get, let us never lose faith, love or hope because that is what we are to bring to others!
That finishes up the section on how the church is to walk In the Light and not in darkness and now Paul moves on to the church walking In Gratitude in I Thessalonians 5:12-13.
When pastor Paul came to visit us from India he said something that took me back, I never really gave it any thought, but I think he is right. He was amazed at how disrespectful some Christians are to their leaders, their pastors in America, it is not like that in India. I think he made a powerful point. And here Paul describes leaders first of all, not by their titles but those who labor in service. He then speaks of those who shepherd the flock and those who admonish or gently reprove or caution or warn the sheep. I have found that this does not go too well for the most part, people don’t want to be admonished or reproved! But Paul once again tells us in Hebrews 13:17, “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” And please understand that leaders are not to be esteemed because of some title they have but because they are laboring for the Lord before God’s people. Not only are you to esteem leaders but you are also to love them and if you can’t, then you need to ask God to change your heart because by your attitude, you won’t bring peace but discord in a fellowship!
Now, in I Thessalonians 5:14-28, the rest of this letter, Paul will show how the church is to walk In Obedience.
Now the church, believers are to exhort or encourage someone who is not walking as they should walk to get right, to come alongside them and encourage them to move forward. First he speaks of warning them who are unruly which was used of a soldier who was out of rank and it came to mean anyone who did not perform his duty or follow through with what he was responsible for! If you are not serving in the body of Christ you are cheating your brothers and sisters in the Lord of the gift that God has given to you. If you are serving and you are just getting by, doing the least you can do, not moving the ministry forward, that is also wrong!
Then there are those who need comfort for they are afraid, maybe because of persecution, maybe afraid to get involved in a ministry, whatever. Some may be sick physically or sick in sin and they need to be lifted up, helped along. Also, we are to be patient with some? No, with all as God has been so patient with each of us!
Now if someone does something wrong to you, treats you unfairly, what are you to do? Love them, forgive them! You see, retaliation is not what God has called us to do, even though we may enjoy it or think we are getting back at the person! Paul put it this way in Romans 12:17-21, “Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. Therefore ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
You see, we are not of the darkness, but of the light! Jesus put it this way in Luke 17:3-4, “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” And I love how the apostles responded to what Jesus said, they replied, “ . . .‘Increase our faith.’” Luke 17:5. “That is a tough one Lord, forgiving like that, increase our faith!” May we ask the Lord for help also in that area!
And in closing this section may we think good of people and not evil. We have become jaded in this country, we don’t trust anyone and we tend to think the worse of people. I try not to, and yes, I have been burned many times over the years, but I would rather error on the side of grace, I would rather think good of people and not evil!
Notice that Paul doesn’t say to rejoice when things are going well but to rejoice always! How can we do that? Because, as Christians our joy is not based in outward circumstances but in the Lord and He never changes. That is what Habakkuk found out as he said, “Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls — Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills.” Habakkuk 3:17-19.
We are to pray without ceasing which simply means our lives should be in tune with God throughout the day, our lines of communication are always open to God so that He can direct us throughout the day!
How in the world can I give thanks in everything? The only way we can is by knowing and believing that, “ . . . all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” The Amplified Bible puts this verse, Romans 8:28 like this, “We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.” Does that mean we will always know the good that will come out of a difficult situation? No, we must learn to trust God by faith, to rest our weight fully upon Him! God is still on the throne, He is still in control, and nothing happens without His knowledge!
And here is the key to all of this; rejoicing always, praying without ceasing, giving thanks in everything to God, it is God’s will for our lives and it is not that we have to do it, but we get to do it!
We can quench the Spirits work in our lives by disobeying Him, rejecting what He wants us to do. It is like throwing a bucket of water on a fire, it will be quenched. Remember as Stephen was arrested for preaching Christ and he stood before the Jewish council and shared not only their history but also Jesus. And in Acts 7:51-53 Stephen said, “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.” And their response was, “When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.” Acts 7:54. They resisted the work of the Holy Spirit to bring them to Jesus and hardened their hearts. We can do the same by hardening our hearts to what the Holy Spirit is saying to us. May we not go down that path but be open and willing to obey!
God continues to speak to us today. There are not new revelations from God but God does speak to us and He guides us. In saying that, here is the warning. We must test all things to see if they are true or not. How do we do that? By bringing them before the light of God’s Word and if what is said goes contrary to God’s Word, then what was spoken was in error, it was not from God! Folks, I am never worried or concerned that you check out what I am saying to see if it lines up with the Bible, what the Scriptures say. I want you to do that. You see, spiritual discernment is truly lacking in the church today and I believe it is because Christians are lazy; they want to be spoon-fed and not willing to study the Scriptures themselves to find out what is right and what is wrong.
Also, we are to abstain from evil, which just makes sense doesn’t it? Of course it does! Paul, in Philippians 4:8-9 tells us what we are to focus upon, which will help us stay away from evil. Paul said, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”
Thus, as Christians we are to honor His Spirit, obey His Word and exercise spiritual discernment! All are important things for us to do!
What did Paul say in Philippians 1:6? He said, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” God saved you, He sanctified you, and He will bring you to glory, you can take that to the bank! Now we do have a free will and in regards to our sanctification, we need to listen and obey as His Spirit leads us or we can ignore what the Spirit is saying to us and the result is that we will quench the Spirit’s work in our life. Peter put it this way in I Peter 2:9-12, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.” God will complete His work in us but don’t wait till you get to heaven, let Him work in you now!
Folks, as Paul coveted the prayers of the Thessalonian believers, I also covet your prayers for me. I appreciate and need them!
In the Middle East they still great each other with a kiss on the cheek. We tend to shake hands or give each other a hug in the Lord!
This letter was not to be framed and honored but read to the brethren. May we continue to read through this letter as we have done, and learn lessons of faith that God has for us.
Paul started out this letter with the grace of God and now he finishes this letter with the grace of God. Folks, we are saved by grace, we are sustained by grace, and we will be taken up into glory by the grace of God or His unmerited favor towards us. In other words, you don’t have to work for His love, just receive it into your life!
As I close this evening and we finish Paul’s letter to the church in Thessalonica, let me leave you with these words from John MacArthur. He tells us:
The closing requests Paul made to the Thessalonians match what all dedicated pastors desire from their own churches: that their people pray for them, that their people demonstrate affection to them and to one another, and that their people hear, read, study, and apply God’s Word. The evangelical church now resides in a time when so many people assume that it can accomplish its mission by man-centered methods, programs, and strategies. Those same people minimize the need to seriously and faithfully pray for their pastors, or the necessity to regularly rely on the divine, all-sufficient resources contained in Scripture. It is a lie from Satan that pastors can do without the divinely energized prayers of their people, but it is God’s truth that, through those prayers, He will powerfully enable pastors to fulfill their callings and help build His church.
- John MacArthur, New Testament Commentary