Text: 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-24
We are always waiting for something. Something as simple as the mail-carrier to bring those Christmas cards with news and greetings from people we know and love. We’re always waiting, waiting for company, waiting for a phone call or email, waiting for lab results. What about waiting for Jesus?
Are you waiting for Him? He is coming. It’s the 3rd Sunday in Advent and so we know. He is soon coming in the Christmas gospel. The good news of a Savior born to you, Christ the Lord. And He is coming next Sunday in Holy Communion. Are you waiting? Are you waiting with a heart that knows your sin and yearns for Jesus to come to you with his gifts of peace and forgiveness? Or are you waiting with a heart weighed down by life for Jesus to lift you up with his love? We are always waiting something. Are we waiting for Jesus? Are we waiting for his coming when every eye will see him, the living and the dead? Are we waiting for that coming when those who wait will be filled with joy, not half filled, not mixed with sorrow, but filled to the brim, running over. Are you waiting for Jesus? This word of God is for those who are.
While Waiting for His Coming…
I. Rejoice, Pray, and give thanks-ALWAYS
II. Keep in step with the Spirit and his Truth
III. Count on your faithful God.
16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. There are times when I stand up here and think to myself, who are you to be preaching on this? This doesn’t describe your life, Pastor Smith. Ask my wife, she knows. I can let life get me down , like you. I can let my prayer life slip. And too often I forget to be thankful. Somebody else should be up here.
But then I realize this is not about me. It’s about what our Lord, not Pastor Smith has to say to us. I need to hear this just as much as you. 16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Let’s take them one at a time. Be joyful always. Our joy in life comes and goes. It’s a joy to see your son or daughter graduate or get married. But listening to the hospice nurse talk to my very sick brother in law was hardly joyful. Yet it says here: Be joyful always. How? Is Paul speaking like that song some years ago. Don’t worry, be happy? Is God just telling us: Put on a happy face. No, there’s much more to this joy . Think of these Christians in Thessalonica. Paul describes them this way. In spite of severe suffering you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
You see, dear friends, every moment of every day we have reason for joy. It doesn’t change like the rising and falling of the tides. Our problem is we lose sight of it and fix our hearts on what’s only for a time. Our problem is we lose sight of Jesus and what his coming means. So we need each other and we need his Word to remind us of what is ours in Him. For when we keep that before us this joy will ALWAYS be ours: The kind of joy we heard the prophet express: I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, So be joyful always because in Christ you are a forgiven child of God rescued from hell for heaven. Be joyful always for we are waiting for something great. We are waiting for Jesus. And each day brings us one day closer
And pray continually. What a privilege we have in Jesus Christ! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. And just think. You won’t ever hear God say. Oh, you again. What is it this time? Even those that love us can get tired of hearing our voice. But God does not grow weary of your prayers. He invites them. He desires them. He ANSWERS them. So keep praying.
And give thanks in all circumstances. First notice what is NOT said. It doesn’t say give thanks FOR all circumstances. It doesn’t say: Give thanks for that broken hip, Pastor Smith. Give thanks for that trip to the Emergency room. We don’t give thanks FOR the troubles that come our way. But we can give thanks IN every circumstance in our life.
Think of Paul and Silas when they were jailed in Philippi. They were stripped, beaten and flogged. Yet what are we told? About midnight they were praying and singing hymns to God. Why? They knew the Lord was in charge of their lives. And they knew that God would not permit anything to come their way unless he could make it work for their good. That’s the Lord’s promise to YOU while you wait for his coming. So rejoice, pray and give thanks.
Then Paul adds, For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. That sounds like a command, doesn’t it? Men, women, rejoice, pray, give thanks. But it’s more than that. This is what God wants for you in Jesus Christ. That you are able to have joy in our hearts, pray to our Father and give thanks no matter what. For no matter what we have peace and hope in the Child of Mary, the Son of God whose coming we long for and expect.
So we wait for Him. But as we wait believers can fall into trouble. And don’t fool yourself. The Bible warns: If you think you are standing firm, watch out that you don’t fall. You and I can get careless in our walk. We can push God’s Word and God’s people into the background of our lives. We can be slow to pray. We can fall behind in the race. So as I read these verses this comes to mind. While waiting…Keep in step with the Spirit and his Truth.
Here Paul warns us: 19 Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; Think about that. People sometimes say. Don’t play with fire. Why? We or someone else can be can get burned. But there’s something else that can happen. The fire can go out. You see, the gift of the Holy Spirit is a wonderful thing. He takes a heart unable to believe. We wanted nothing to do with Jesus. It was plain foolishness to us. Maybe you remember that time in your life.
But God the Holy Spirit came to you. He brought you to faith in Jesus. With that came a fire, a warmth, a love for God who has so loved you. A warmth for others born out of God’s love.
But the Spirit will not remain where he is made unwelcome. If we neglect our faith and our need for God’s Word, if we live a life that ignores God’s will, if we do not struggle against our sinful nature and just go the way of this world, if we live a self-centered life all about me, we are asking for trouble. We grieve the Holy Spirit. We can put out the Spirit’s fire. Don’t, Paul warns here. Keep in step with the Spirit.
And this is closely connected. His truth. He says it this way. Do not treat prophecies with contempt. In Bible times, God gave the gift of prophecy to certain people, his prophets and apostles. He would use them to reveal his Word. So we’re told: Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. And what God intended for us to have, he had written down. So when we think of prophecies today, we’re talking about our Bible.
Don’t despise it. Don’t take away the authority it deserves in your life. When God warns you take it seriously. When God promises you,live by that promise. When it shows you your sin, don’t make light of it. That gossipy tongue, that anger in your heart, that lust of your eyes. Instead, repent, turn away from it, confess it to God. Then believe the Gospel which shows you your Savior, Jesus Christ. Come to the manger with the excitement of the shepherds, the awe of Mary and Joseph. Come with eyes of faith that see in the Christ-Child the one who sets you free. Keep in step with the Spirit and his truth.
But test everything. There are all kinds of people who claim to speak for God. Some speak in churches, others from the television screen. Don’t just assume that they or I speak the Spirit ‘s truth. Test every teaching or preaching against the Bible.
But don’t stop there. Test everything. Hold on to what is good. Avoid every kind of evil. For example: This Christmas season. Does your Christmas celebration keep Jesus central? Has shopping and gift giving become a big distraction from the true gift? It’s also the season of parties and get-togethers. That can be a good thing. But not when your head is numbed with alcohol or marijuana, not when you say things or do things you later regret. Hold on to what is good. Avoid every kind of evil. While waiting for Jesus, keep in step with the Spirit and His Truth.
But while waiting, we can be shaken. More than once I have heard this. A person had heard the good news for years. Time and again, he had heard the precious words of absolution, your sins are forgiven. He had taken the Lord’s body and blood to assure him that he had peace with God. But something had shaken him. Maybe the prospect of death. Maybe a shameful memory. You see, the devil is very good at attacking us at our weakest point. So now a monster of uncertainty has parked itself on the doorstep of that Christian’s heart. What will I find when I stand before God? Will Jesus reject me? And don’t think you are immune.
Then think of Paul’s closing prayer for these people. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He prays that because that’s how we need to stand before God. Blameless. Are we? Not on our own.
But we are not on our own. Jesus was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. So Now In Christ we are justified. God says you are blameless. And you will stand blameless just as you do now. For the one who calls you is faithful and He will do it. So while you wait, count on your faithful God. And not just for that day to come, but every day of your life. Amen.