God’s will for our lives & His Church (1 Thessalonians 5:12-28)

Posted on October 25, 2017 Updated on October 25, 2017

As this first letter to the Thessalonians comes to a close the Apostle Paul gives some a variety short instructions on a range of issues of what the transformed life and community of those who are following Jesus ought to be like.

Imagine all of these instructions, and all the more specific or focussed encouragements for right living through this whole letter (faith, hope & love, sexual purity & living with a biblical eternal perspective) being lived out! What an incredible church, a community of faith that would be.

When there is a long list of exhortations like this, one can get caught in ‘skimming mode’. You can’t possibly focus on so many things all at once. My encouragement is for you to read through the list and to ask the Holy Spirit to just take His heavenly highlighter as it were and highlight that which He wants to speak to you about today. Then meditate on those things, stop and ask the Holy Spirit to convict of wrongdoing maybe and or to encourage you as to the change that’s required in you.

So read through this diverse list, pray that our church would be all these things, but ask the Holy Spirit to highlight what He wants to work on in you at the moment and then take time to dwell on that, to hear what specifically needs correcting or changing. Then repent or make changes accordingly.

Honour/respect leaders who’s job it is to at times admonish you (vs12)
Live peacefully with one another in the church (vs13)
Warn/admonish/correct gently those who are idle (vs14)
Encourage those who are fainthearted (vs14)
Support/help those who are weak or those without strength (vs14)
Be patient with all! (vs14)
Don’t take revenge on anyone (vs15)
Always seek to do good to one another and to all people (vs15)
Always rejoice (vs16)
Always pray and do so without stopping (vs17)
Always give thanks to God at all times as this is God’s will for you. (vs18)
Don’t quench, don’t extinguish the work of the Holy Spirit amongst you (vs19)
Don’t despise prophecy treating it as though it has no value (vs20)
But test/examine/discern prophecies to know what to approve/act on (vs21)
Hold fast only to that which is good in prophecies (vs21)
Abstain/keep oneself from every form of evil (vs22)

May God who is the One who will sanctify us (make us more and more like Jesus), may God who is the One who will keep working in you to make you blameless on the Day of Jesus, may God who is the One who called you to Himself, may God produce the change that’s needed in you and in me. (vs23-24) Amen.