Sermon - Dealing with Difficult People

Dealing with Difficult People in the Church pt 1

1 Thessalonians 5:14&15

8/7/07

Introduction

Who has ever felt a little ticked off by other people in the church? Let’s admit it, your fellow Christians get on your nerves sometimes, and for good reason. Some of the most annoying people I know are Christians. I have been more deeply hurt and disappointed by Christians than by those who are not Christians.

It doesn’t sound like a very promising start to a sermon, does it?

One thing I love about the Bible is that it is not a fantasy novel. It is very realistic. It is honest, it is truthful, and because it is so truthfully honest it is of real help to us as we live in a world that does not live up to the ideals that we would hope for.

Early on in our series in 1 Thessalonians we discovered that the church in Thessalonica was going really, really well. Paul was relieved – in fact, overjoyed – when he heard just how well the church had been going.

But even when a church is going well, there are going to be people within it who are not going so well. As Paul gives some closing instructions to the church he tackles the subject of what to do with people who are not doing well. People who are causing difficulties to themselves and to others.

1 Thessalonians 5:14-15

And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. ^15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

We Have and Urgent Duty to One Another

Verse 14 begins “And we urge you, brothers…”

As Paul talks about dealing with difficult people, I want you to recognise 2 very important principles:

1) Dealing with difficult people is our shared responsibility

Paul addresses the whole church as he makes the following requests. It is true that the elders of a church have a particular oversight and responsibility to care for the church and to deal with people according to their needs, but that is never just an eldership responsibility. We are all responsible to love one another, and that sometimes means helping people who are being difficult. It is always easier to leave this sort of task to someone else, but we are all called to something more. We are called to a deep commitment to Christ and to one another. Being in a church family is more than just turning up on Sundays. It is much more than that. It requires much more than that from us.

2) Dealing with difficult people is an urgent priority.

There is a tone of urgency in how Paul addresses the Thessalonians here. In verse 12 Paul is asking the Thessalonians to love and respect their leaders, but notice there is an even greater urgency in this request in verse 14 to deal with people who are difficult in the group. It is important to treat our leaders properly, but it is perhaps an even more urgent priority to deal with those people who are struggling in a way which restores and helps them.

Who are the People who Cause Difficulties in the Church?

There are a number of different types of problematic people described in these 2 verses. I’m going to describe these pretty bluntly. It may sound a little uncaring, but what I am actually doing is portraying the seriousness of these various conditions. We need to understand how serious they are so that we deal with them appropriately.

1) The Unruly

The word used by the NIV in verse 14 is “idle”, but it is perhaps better understood using the NASB or King James Version which says “unruly”. This word is describing those people who cannot be bothered to keep in step with the rest of the church. People who will not submit to the authority of leadership. People who are always out of line. This word was used in a military setting to describe someone who was insubordinate, someone who did not do their duty, someone who was not submissive.

There are 2 basic reasons for this. One is apathy – a person simply cannot be bothered to do what is expected, to live in a way which is expected of them. The other is rebellion – they do not want to take orders or submit their own desires, ambitions or needs for the sake of others. They are either undisciplined, uncommitted or unteachable – possibly all three!

Unruly people undermine the unity and effectiveness of the church.

2) The Timid

We often feel sorry for those who are timid, but we often fail to realise how dangerous it is to allow people to remain in this condition. We often indulge people who are timid instead of helping and challenging them to grow.

The word translated “timid” here literally means “small-souled”. It describes someone who is faint-hearted. This person is always a victim or a potential victim. A timid person always sees the negatives and the dangers in any situation. They prefer the comfort of familiarity rather than the mystery of the unknown. They always resist change and the uncertainty it brings. They squash faith because it is risky and unsafe. They simply do not have the courage to do what God calls them to do. Their negativity and fear infects the church and stifles any new work that God stirs up in the hearts of its members. The timid person seeks safety and self-protection above all else.

The timid person says “Don’t challenge me, I’m too fragile. Don’t ask anything of me.” The timid person expects to be looked after – they suck the energy and resources of the church from where they should be directed.

Timid people stifle the growth and creativity of the church.

3) The Weak

There are a number of different people this phrase can be applied to:

The Morally Weak

Who are the morally weak? They are people who seem to constantly struggle with sin. They struggle to discipline their thoughts, on the contrary they entertain temptation until they get to the point of acting on it. They lack spiritual power and spiritual discernment. They know very well that it is beyond them to live the righteous life that God calls us to, yet they have not discovered the power of allowing God’s Spirit to control their thoughts and actions.

Because of their own moral weakness, these people tend to be more suspicious of others. Their guilty conscience often drives them to legalism in a futile attempt to defeat sin. Morally weak people are often the harshest critics of sin in the lives of others. Their frustration at their own hidden sins drives them to judgementalism instead of compassion and gentle restoration.

The Weak in Faith

The Weak in Faith are talked about in Romans 14 & 15 and also 1 Corinthians 8 to 10. They are people with an oversensitive conscience. They see sin where a person with strong faith does not. Where a person of strong faith has confidence and liberty, someone with weak faith is always afraid of stumbling. They lack confidence in their understanding of the character of God and in the leading of His Spirit, so they look to written rules to guide their actions.

The Weak in Body

Of course there are also people who are weak in body. This is a different category altogether from the others which are in view in this passage. Most commentators agree that this passage is not speaking about physical weakness, but that is not to say that people who are physically weak do not need the help of their Christian brothers and sisters. This is simply because Paul is addressing spiritual issues, and while at times there may be spiritual causes to our physical condition, this is not always the case.

People who are morally weak or weak in faith are dominated by sin or the fear of sin. Remember that sin is the falling short of God’s standards. Weak Christians do not have the strength to pursue and attain God’s will for their lives. They can sap the spiritual strength of a church if this problem is not addressed.

It’s all inspiring stuff so far isn’t it!

Actually, I think it is. It’s nice to recognise that even in a church that is going so well, people still need to be aware of those who are struggling with these conditions, and to take the responsibility to do something to help them.

We all fall short of God’s standards, and we all need help to be the people that God is creating us to be. That’s what the church is for. The church is not for perfect people – that’s what Heaven’s for! The Church is for people who are in the process of being made perfect. And it’s that process that we need to learn a bit more about this morning. What does this passage teach us about how we can help each other to grow beyond these sorts of problems?

I want to stress that in each of the instructions Paul gives, they have the flavour of coming alongside to do something. In other words, in each case we are being asked to come alongside our Christian brothers and sisters in love. We are being asked to get involved with each other, not to criticize from a distance or ignore each other. We are to care so much for each other that when we see someone affected by one of these problems, we take the initiative to prayerfully get involved. We don’t leave it to the Pastor or to the Elders, we take responsibility to be the sort of church family that God wants us to be.

But how specifically can we deal with each of these different problems?

1) Warn the Unruly

People who are out of ranks need to be warned about the consequences of their actions or their lack of action.

A couple of weeks ago when we addressed the issue of the church’s relationship with its leaders, I mentioned that respecting and submitting to leaders never implies a blind obedience. It doesn’t stifle discussion and debate, or suggest that leaders are infallible.

In a similar way, when we talk about the importance of being in step, we are not talking about everyone having to think the same and act the same. It’s not about conformity, but about order. God is a God of order, not disorder. He does not approve of His church being thrust into chaos because of rebellion or laziness.

The church is meant to be a body which works together for the purposes to which God has called it. We cannot do this if some parts of the body refuse to work in cooperation with the other members. You cannot have different parts of the body pulling in different directions, or just being dead weight.

People who are having this effect on the body need to be warned. That word literally means to “put sense into”. They need people to come alongside them say “I’m worried about the consequences for you and for our church if you continue down this path”. They need someone to listen to them and find out what the issues are. Have they simply grown tired of the effort that they were investing and decided to pull out of involvement? Are they disgruntled because they felt ignored or unvalued? Do they have some doctrinal or other concerns that need to be worked through? Are there issues of unhappiness in their life that are affecting their relationships in the church? Are there personal agendas that need to be exposed?

Whatever the reason for their being out of sync with the church, it must be exposed for what it is and they must be made aware of the danger of continuing down that path. This should be done gently but firmly – the truth spoken in love, so that we may grow up together into Christ (Eph 4:15).

2) Encourage the Timid

Secondly, we must encourage the timid.

To encourage means to come alongside and speak gently in order to build them up. We don’t want to shame them or belittle them further, we want to gently build them up. How do we do that?

Timid people are controlled by fear and doubt. Listen to what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:10…

^10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

This is the direct opposite to the way a timid person thinks! The timid person fears weakness, fears insults, fears hardships, persecutions and difficulties. They avoid any action that might lead to them experiencing these things.

What was Paul’s secret? It’s found in the preceding verses:

2 Corinthians 12:7-9

^7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ^8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ^9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Paul had discovered that in his weakness, Christ’s power was made perfect. It was only when Paul was out of his depth that he truly discovered the sufficiency of Christ. The timid person never puts a toe in the water, let alone goes in over his depth! They need to be gently encouraged, bit by bit, out into deeper water.

How do you do this?

The promises of the Bible are a good start. Memorise together the promises of Scripture. Share the stories of the heroes of faith like David and Gideon and Deborah and Noah and Moses and Rahab and Joseph and Mary and so on. Share your own stories of how God has worked in your life. Bit by bit build up the faith that is necessary to grow a person’s soul. We do not want to make people self-confident, but Christ-confident.

With gentle encouragement people can conquer their fears and attempt things they never thought possible and tolerate things that were previously intolerable. They will discover the gifts and calling that God has placed upon their life that they were always to scared to act on, like the servant who buried his talent in the ground because he was afraid to take a risk (Matt 25:14-30). He squandered what His Master had given him, which is exactly what timid people will do unless they are helped to grow in faith.

3) Help the Weak

What is it that the morally weak or the weak in faith need from us? They need our help.

Let’s start with the morally weak. How do we help someone who repeatedly falls into sin? Same as the others that we have looked at so far – we come alongside. For this to happen, there needs to be an openness about sin where we can confess it to one another and help each other through it. If we are all busy pretending to be perfect we will be unable to help one another to get closer to being perfect, closer to being free from the wreckage of sin in our lives.

How do we help? We pray together. We keep accountable to each other – we ring up or meet together and check on each other. We share the biblical principles that can grow our understanding and prepare us for lives of righteousness.

One thing we do not do is make people who are morally weak feel ashamed or inferior. That is what Satan does to try and keep people bound up and frustrated and unable to receive the help they need. That is what Satan does to promote hypocrisy in the church which turns people away from the God who we proclaim but don’t really follow.

One of the most helpful things to me in overcoming some habitual sin in my life was to confess it to others. Instead of staying shamefully silent I discovered that other people identified with my struggles. I felt reassured and supported and encouraged to continue to struggle against my sin. I have also been privileged to share with those who have confessed their hidden sins to me, in order to help them to have the support they needed to overcome what was hindering their walk with God and their work in the church.

Are you willing to help others in their fight with sin, or would you rather not know? Are you willing to receive help?

The Weak in Faith also need help. The help they need takes two forms. Firstly, they need help in the form of sensitivity to their weakness. In Romans and 1 Corinthians we are urged to be sensitive to one another in how our actions affect each other. If something you do causes your brother or sister to sin, don’t do it. Help them by not doing the things that you have a right to do. There can be all sorts of things that cause people to be weak in faith in particular areas. In the early church for example, a common situation was that people who had come out of pagan worship were very sensitive about eating meat that might have been sacrificed to idols. People who came from a background of Judaism could be quite sensitive to matters relating to Old Testament ceremonial law. In both cases, these people did not feel comfortable with things that other Christians were fine with.

It is very possible that in exercising their Christian freedom around such people, other members of the church could in fact have a negative effect on them rather than a helpful effect. Not only might it cause distress to them, but it may also confuse these people as to what was right and wrong, and might lead them to fall into things that they shouldn’t.

Paul says that he would rather give up his personal freedom if it prevents his weaker brothers and sisters from falling in to a trap of sin.

The flip side of that is that we can best help our weaker brothers and sisters by causing them to grow stronger. To always indulge a weak person means that they will stay weak. People with weak faith need to be helped to grow to be stronger in faith. This means specific teaching on their points of weakness. This means gentle encouragement and training. This means developing close spiritual relationships with people of mature faith, rather than people of weak faith sticking together.

However this process must not be rushed. To move too quickly could destroy someone with weak faith. This was very evident during my time at Bible College. There were some subjects that were studied which were quite challenging from the point of view of faith. Some students were not ready for it, and instead of being better equipped and prepared through those units, some were left disillusioned and full of doubt.

In my own experiences as a leader, I am aware of some occasions where I thought people were ready to do certain things that were outside the boundaries of what had been done before, only to find out that they were not all ready. The resulting fallout was very painful. Knowing the best way to help those with weak faith requires a lot of discernment, but the best way to do it is through close involvement.

Conclusion

The command of Scripture today is pretty clear: warn the unruly, encourage the timid, help the weak. None of us are exempt from being unruly, timid or weak. I think most of us spend a little bit of time in each of those camps! Let’s make sure that we are helping each other move out of those situations and in to fullness of God’s intention for us as individuals and as a church.

Are you ready to do that? Are you ready to receive it?

What is a Church?

What is a Church?

When I say that I’m going “to Church”, am I talking about a place, a ceremony or a group of people? For lots of people, “Church” can mean a particular building, something that happens in that building or the group of people who go there.

Think Bigger

“The Church” is much bigger than any particular building, ceremony or group that gathers together. It refers to all Christians of all eras and places. That’s a big group of people!

Little “c” churches

Within the big picture of “The Church”, there are hundreds of thousands (or more) little “c” churches. These are local churches – groups of Christians in the same time and place who meet together to worship God and do all the things the Bible teaches us to do for and with each other. This includes things like learning together, working together, caring for each other, praying together and so on.

Taking my church for example; the Narembeen Church of Christ today is a different church to the Narembeen Church of Christ 10 years ago. It still meets in the same buildings (and many of the same homes), but it is a different church because the people have changed over that time – there are people in the church today who weren’t here 10 years ago; people who aren’t here who used to be; and even those who have been here 10 years and more are different people today than they were 10 years ago. What we do together reflects who we have been, who we are today and who God is creating us to be into the future.

Designed to be Different

Often within groups there is pressure to conform, but churches are designed to be different. Churches are meant to provide an environment for people to be transformed by God from within, not forced to conform to external pressures. The Bible says that God has made us all uniquely, and is continuing to shape those who allow Him to do so. As we come together with our diverse gifts, passions, experiences and so on we find that we are so much better off than if we were all the same. In fact, God even shapes churches by bring people into them and shaping those already there, so that together they can fulfill God’s specific purpose for that church. As each church is different, each church does different things well. We are not rivals, we can appreciate how God works in other churches and support one another in love. The goal is that through our partnership, God will increasingly receive the acclaim that He deserves and more and more people will come to discover real life through faith in Jesus Christ.

Mike Birch

www.ministrywithmike.blogspot.com.au

churchofchrist@narembeen.com

The Pathway to Peace

The Pathway to Peace

1 Thessalonians 5:13b

1/07/07

audio

“Live in peace with each other.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:13b

We all know that peace is a precious and rare commodity in this world. It is something that people long for and strive for but it seems so elusive. Today we are exploring the Bible’s exhortation that we should “live in peace with each other” – what does that mean, and is it really possible?

Living in peace with one another is one of the most attractive aspects of Christian community. However I am concerned that because of a lack of real understanding of what the Bible means when it talks about peace, we have settled for something far less than what God wants for us.

Let’s start off by coming up with a definition for the word “peace”. There are many different ways of thinking about what peace is, so we need to first of all make sure that we are all thinking about the same thing. We’re going to start by briefly looking at how the concept of peace has been understood generally in history, and then we are going to compare that with what the Bible has to say about it. We don’t want to settle for less than God’s intention for us, so we need to find out if what we think of matches up with what God thinks of when He speaks to us about peace.

In the days of the Roman empire, peace (“pax”) was defined as “absentia belli”, which means “the absence of war”. That’s the idea of peace that many people still hold to today. They would go a little further to say the absence of conflict, not just the absence of war.

So if you are going to strive for peace, what you are going to try and do is get rid of all of the sources of conflict within your situation, or you are going to at least try and control those things that cause conflict.

If you are part of a nation divided by ethnicity or religious beliefs for example, you will either try and separate those groups and wall them off from each other so that they cannot get into arguments or violent confrontations; or else you will try and control what those people are allowed to say and do so that opposing groups do not stir one another up or attack one another. That’s why in Australia for example we have things like racial and religious vilification laws. In the Middle East we have Palestinians walled off from Israeli’s for the same reason. This sort of thing happens around the world wherever differences between people lead to conflict.

As strange as it sounds, it even works this way in families. There are often certain subjects that are not allowed to be discussed because they produce conflict. In order for their to be peace in the home, there are unwritten rules about what may or may not be spoken about or done and even sometimes who is welcome and who is not. The presence of some topics, behaviours and even people leads to conflict, so the only way to achieve peace is to either ban or tightly control those things.

That might sound pretty logical, but it actually falls a long way short of what real peace is.

Let’s move on from the Romans to a much more recent time. There have been many people throughout history who have noticed that conflict is not actually the real problem. Peace is more than an absence of conflict, in fact the way to real peace often involves conflict.

The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. summed up this understanding when he said “True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.” For people like Martin Luther King, the real problem is not conflict or tension, but a lack of justice.

Let’s give a really basic example of what that looks like.

Let’s just say that in our church you have to be a landholder in order to cast a vote in any of our meetings. You cannot have a say about who holds positions within the church, how the church utilises it’s resources, how our activities are conducted and so on; unless you belong to the landholders club. Landholders can even determine who may attend weekly gatherings. If you are a landholder, you will probably not feel at all tense or conflicted about the situation, in fact you may feel that it is the wisest course, since landholders are generally more stable and responsible than people who do not own their own properties.

Those who are not landholders either don’t come, or they dare not speak out because they (for some reason) still want to be allowed to attend this church; but there is an injustice that they are keenly aware of. Martin Luther King would say that while there is no visible conflict, there is also no peace. Even for those who feel perfectly content, they are not living in peace with those who are being treated poorly, or in peace with the God who loves all people equally. Peace and justice go together.

What does the Bible have to say about this?

The Bible is actually in agreement with what we have just been talking about, but it goes one step further. The Bible says that peace comes with right relationships. Justice talks about the fact that people should be in right relationship with each other. There should not be any exploitation or discrimination or abuse of any kind within society. However the Bible talks about some other areas of right relationship that are necessary for peace to be a reality.

The Bible uses the word “Righteousness” to describe the ways in which we need to be in right relationship with God and each other. It also describes the fact that peace and righteousness go together…

Psalm 85:10 -

Love and faithfulness meet together;

righteousness and peace kiss each other

Peace comes with…

1) Right Relationship with God’s Person

In John 16:33 Jesus says to His followers:

^33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus says that even in the midst of our troubles, we can have peace in Him. The way to pursue peace is not to avoid or control conflict, but to pursue a right relationship with Jesus. In right relationship with Jesus is where peace is found. It is through faith in Jesus that we have a right relationship with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit also.

Remember the words of the angels who announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds in Luke 2:14…

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favour rests”

How do you become someone on whom God’s favour rests? Through Jesus!

2 Corinthians 5:18 says “^All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ”

But this is not the same as being free from conflict. Remember the idea that society had in Jesus’ day? Most people thought the word peace meant “absentia belli”, the absence of war. This is what Jesus says to these people:

^34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ^35 For I have come to turn

“‘a man against his father,

a daughter against her mother,

a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—

^36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own

household.’

- Matthew 10:34-36

If you are going to be at peace with God, then you may indeed experience great conflict in relationship with others. To be in step with Jesus is to be out of step with the world. You can’t march to 2 different beats at the same time. You will either be out of step with one or out of step with both. Trying to fit with both will mean that you don’t fit with either.

Real peace begins with being in right relationship with God no matter what it costs us in our relationships with others. This is a hard truth for many people to accept. It flows on to another difficult truth. To be in right relationship with God’s Person means to also be in…

2) Right Relationship with God’s Standards

^43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.^{ 45} And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. ^{ 47} And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, ^48 where

“‘their worm does not die,

and the fire is not quenched’

^49 Everyone will be salted with fire.

^50 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

- Mark 9:43-50

God is very concerned about issues of good and evil, right and wrong. As this passage in Mark demonstrates, our right relationship with God’s standards determines the state of our relationship to God and to each other.

(Now, for those who are a little shocked at the idea of cutting off body parts to escape being thrown into hell, I want you to understand the nature of this teaching. Jesus is using a method common in his culture called ‘hyperbole’, where you paint a very striking picture that will stick in people’s minds so that they will remember your point. The point is that sin is a very serious matter, and we should do everything possible in order to escape the corruption of sin, and the judgement that will follow. Jesus knew that sin does not come from our eyes or hands or feet – it is a part of our very nature. The Bible teaches that it is only God Himself who is able to perform the internal surgery needed to cleanse us from sin).

What do I mean by having a right relationship to God’s standards?

It means being in a position of understanding instead of a position of ignorance. It means being in a position of obedience not a position of disobedience. A position of submission not a position of rebellion.

In regard to the law you are either guilty or not guilty. Whether it’s because of ignorance, a lapse in judgement, an accident or a deliberate choice, if you are guilty then you are guilty. Of course there is always forgiveness in Jesus, but you cannot be at real peace with God, with other people or within yourself if you are not in right relationship with God’s standards.

That means that when you discover that you have sinned, you need to confess that to God and ask for His help to turn that behaviour or attitude around so that it is no longer a part of your life.

There’s a well-known passage in the book of Philippians that deals with the subject of peace…

Philippians 4:4-9

^4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ^5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ^6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ^7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

^8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ^9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Notice how the first paragraph is primarily concerned with how we relate to the person of God, while the second paragraph is about how we think and act in accordance with God’s standards. The result of both of these things is that we experience the peace of God.

So the Pathway to Peace is the Road of Righteousness. Being in right relationship to God through our personal relationship with Him and our obedience to His commands is what establishes peace between us. Being in right relationship to God moves us toward right relationship with each other.

Now, let’s get back to our passage (1 Thess. 5:13b)…

“Live in peace with each other.”

Let’s think about how we do this in the light of the principle of righteousness.

1) How does our right relationship with the person of God affect our lives with each other?

There are two obvious answers that are demonstrated time and time again in the New Testament for us.

a) We Will thank God for one another

(eg. Acts 28:15; Romans 1:8; 1 Cor. 1:4; Col. 1:3; 1 Thess 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:3; Philemon 4)

b) We will pray for one another

(eg. Luke 6:28 – pray for those who mistreat you; Luke 22:32 – Jesus prays for Peter’s faith; John 17 – Jesus prays for his disciples and later followers; Romans 15:30 – we join in other’s struggles by praying for them; 3 John 2 – praying for the health of others….)

When God brings us to the point of earnestly thanking Him for one another and praying for one another, that is the point where we begin to experience a real peace that is more than the absence of conflict. There will be a sense of love and belonging and support and loyalty and honesty and enjoyment which will be incredibly attractive to people.

Whenever I see a group of Christians who do not seem to want to be together – a group that seems to have competing cliques within it – that’s where I sense a group of people whose relationship with the person of God is stunted and incomplete. You can’t know God intimately and then not care for other people. All people matter to God.

2) How does our right relationship with the standards of God affect our lives with each other?

Well for a start we won’t murder each other!

The answer to that question becomes really obvious when you read the commands of Scripture.

What would it be like to be a part of a group where people consider the needs of others and not just themselves? What would it be like to have people want to listen to you rather than forcing you to listen to them? What would it be like to not have to worry about being lied to or manipulated or cheated or neglected or discriminated against or gossiped about or slandered or stolen from or bullied?

What would it be like to live in community with others who are genuinely striving to live as God instructs us to live? Are you going to feel at peace in a group like that? You bet!

Do you know how many people are nervous about making mistakes in churches because they worry about what others think of them or say about them? There is a lack of peace because whether for good reasons or bad, people suspect that others will not adhere to the standards of God in relation to how we think and talk about them.

Do you know how many people carry hurts because they feel as though God’s standards have not been lived up to in the way they have been treated by others within the church? That failure in the lives of others in the church is then very often used as an excuse to justify their own disobedience.

Neither of these situations reflect what it is like to live in peace with each other, yet both are true of our church at times. I know this because you have told me so!

When you are feeling as though things in our church family aren’t right, where we are not as close to each other as we should be or there are divisions among us, I want you to remember the two categories that we have been talking about today, and I want you to ask yourself these 2 questions and even recruit some spiritually mature people to help you with them:

1) How can I take this situation to God?

2) What principles has God given me to guide my thoughts and actions?

If we each do this, we will experience what it is like to live in peace with each other. Satan would like to get our attention onto things like:

¯ the nature of our disagreements with people

¯ their behaviour that we disapprove of

¯ conflicting goals that we may have for the church

¯ ways that we feel hurt or rejected

¯ possible hidden motives or agendas

We need to stop that train before it leaves the station!

The Pathway to Peace is the Road of Righteousness. True peace is possible if we learn to ask these 2 simple questions:

1) How can I take this situation to God?

2) What principles has God given me to guide my thoughts and actions?

That’s the road that leads to peace.

I said at the beginning that I am concerned that we settle for less than God’s best when we live by the wrong definition of peace. We often live by the Roman definition instead of by God’s definition.

The result is that we avoid conflict, but to avoid conflict is to avoid growth. God uses difficult situations and inner tensions to cause us to grow. Satan puts difficulty in our path to try to stop us from doing God’s will. Either way, there’s going to be difficulty, just as Jesus promised. There are going to be issues that need to be worked through.

Often when a group is being challenged to change there is a resentment toward those who are causing all the fuss. “Why can’t you just leave us as we are?”

We often don’t realise that these people may well be playing the role of peacemaker. How is that possible when they are stirring up trouble and causing tension? If they are causing the group to be challenged to live in right relationship to God and each other, then they are fulfilling the role of peacemaker.

James 3:18 says:

“Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.”

If we used the Roman definition of peace, that verse would simply not be true. It is only true when we understand God’s idea of peace.

Be at peace. Be a peacemaker. Regardless of what it costs.

---

Respecting Spiritual Leaders

Respecting Spiritual Leaders

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13a

24/06/07

audio

Introduction - Final Instructions in the book of 1 Thessalonians.

Paul has just been giving some great teaching on the subject of the coming Kingdom of God and how we should live as we await it’s arrival. In closing his letter he gives a series of exhortations focussing not on people’s knowledge but on their attitudes and behaviours.

There’s some really challenging directions that are contained in this closing section of the book, and as you read it you can stop after every few words and feel convicted about how you are putting or not putting these things into practice in your life.

Let’s read it through together..

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

^12 Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. ^13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. ^14 And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. ^15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

^16 Be joyful always; ^17 pray continually; ^18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

^19 Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; ^20 do not treat prophecies with contempt. ^21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. ^22 Avoid every kind of evil.

^23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ^24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

^25 Brothers, pray for us. ^26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. ^27 I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

^28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Why do you give someone an instruction?

Let me give you an example of what I mean. If you are teaching a group of students, why would you need to instruct them to be quiet?

1) Because they are being noisy

2) Because they are at risk of being noisy

If you have a well trained group of students, you don’t need to tell them to be quiet while you are teaching them, they have learned to do that and are in the habit of doing it.

There are always some kids who feel like the teacher is always picking on them. They are always being instructed or reproved. Why is that? Because they need it! If they were doing the right thing, they would not need to be told to do the right thing.

As Christians, we need to recognise that as long as we are part of a world which is corrupted by sin, we are always either falling short in a particular area or at risk of doing so. We need to be constantly challenged about our attitudes and behaviours. I don’t care if you can recite the Bible in 3 different languages, you still need to hear it again and be refined by it again.

In giving his closing instructions, Paul deals first with the community life of the church – the relationship of Christians to one another. He then goes on to address people’s individual lifestyles.

The first thing about Christian community that Paul addresses is the issue of how people feel and act toward those in leadership.

^12 Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. ^13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work.

Why wouldn’t we respect our spiritual leaders? Why do we need to be reminded to do so? I must confess that especially up until my mid-twenties, I found it very easy to have a disrespectful and critical attitude toward leaders and toward others in general. I would hear someone complaining about decisions made or things being done in various places and I would feel quite free in being critical about those things. I would sound very wise in my own ears and in the ears of like-minded people as I talked about principles and passages that seemed to back up my own opinions on the matter.

Then God disciplined me for my arrogance by putting me in leadership. Actually, I’d been involved in leadership from the age of 17 in one form or another. I taught Sunday School and led youth groups from the time that I left high school. But leading a fairly narrow group of people is one thing, trying to lead a diverse group of people is quite another. Things that seem so simple suddenly get very complicated. I now know what it is like to be criticised and complained about. I know how hard it is to be a leader. If you have not experienced it is impossible to describe. But as a leader myself I now regret things that I did in the past that helped others to maintain disrespectful attitudes towards their leaders.

The other thing that God did to correct my pride was to give me opportunities to get to know some of the people who I had previously criticised, or people from groups that I had criticised. As I experienced the bond of the Holy Spirit and our partnership in the Gospel it embarrassed me to remember my attitudes and comments in the past. I recognised that my arrogance masked an ignorance. I spoke of things that I did not really understand, even though it seemed so clear to me at the time.

Just before challenging people about their attitudes to leadership, Paul wrote the following:

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

It is a lot easier to tear down than it is to build up. It is easier to criticise someone than to work alongside them. It is easier to complain about someone than to work through your issues with them. It is easier to rebel against authority than to submit to one another.

I want to stress that Christians are never told to blindly follow their leaders. They don’t need to agree with every decision that leaders make. Hebrews 13:17 does remind us to obey our leaders and submit to their authority, but that does not mean that there is not room for discussion and debate where necessary. It doesn’t mean that grievances with leaders should not be dealt with. It certainly is not saying that leaders do not make mistakes.

It is saying that whatever the circumstances, leaders should be held in the highest regard in love because of their work. Leaders should be loved and respected. Is this any different to the way that we should be treating everyone else? No, of course not, but sometimes it is a particular challenge for us to do this with our leaders. Also, the way we demonstrate our love and respect for leaders is different to how we demonstrate it to those who are not in leadership.

I was part of a church once where the leadership as a whole had set a direction and implemented some changes that I didn’t agree with. There were others in the church who were struggling with these changes also, and because they trusted me as a teacher and leader they would often come and share their concerns with me.

It would have been very easy for me to join with them in criticising the decisions and actions being undertaken. It would have made me more popular among certain sections of the group, and we may even have been successful in getting some stuff changed.

What should I do in that situation?

The first thing I needed to do was to care for those people who were sharing with me by listening and showing that I understood their concerns. However to agree with them and criticise the other leaders would neither love them nor the leaders, it would not show respect for the authority of the leaders, and it would also not be fair.

As someone who was a part of the leadership team, I knew very well how hard they worked in their ministry. I knew the prayer and discussion and study that was being invested. I knew their hearts and the desire they had to glorify God and see people reached with the gospel. Those people who shared concerns with me didn’t need my help to feel critical, they needed my help to feel reassured about the integrity of their leaders. They needed my help to understand some of the reasons behind certain changes. They needed my help to know that even if they disagreed, they had a responsibility to continue to love and respect their leaders by what they did and did not do.

What do I mean by that?

Respect and love for leaders means not criticising and undermining their authority, but it also means supporting them in their ministry. That involves praying for them. That involves working together with them in the ministry that God has called you to. You continue to play your part and let them play their part. That can be difficult to do sometimes.

Notice in verse 12 how leaders are described. The first phrase is functional – what they do. They work hard among you. Other passages in the Bible talk about the different aspects of that work, things like teaching, prayer, pastoral oversight and so on. The second phrase is positional – it talks about the position leaders hold in the Church, which is one of authority. Leaders have responsibility and authority – they go hand in hand. You don’t have one without the other. Sometimes churches want to delegate all the responsibility to leaders but not give them the authority that goes with it. Sometimes leaders want authority but don’t want the responsibility of serving others in love. Both are necessary.

I find it interesting though that one particular part of that responsibility and authority package is then highlighted. Leaders admonish. They need to speak sternly to people sometimes! They need to warn people of the consequences of their actions and urge them to heed God’s instruction.

Who here likes being told off? Who likes being told that they have done something wrong? Who likes being told even that they have made a mistake? We all know that we make mistakes, but for some reason we hate it when someone points it out to us. We are competitive – we don’t want anyone to feel superior to us.

How interesting that Paul highlights this part of a leader’s role when exhorting people to love and respect their leaders. He chooses the thing most likely to put people offside and cause them to rebel against leaders, and says “hold the people who have the responsibility and the authority to do this in the highest regard in love because of their work”.

Whenever somebody criticizes, corrects or disagrees with us, our mind automatically shifts into defensive mode. We start thinking of reasons why we should not listen to what they are saying. We look for people who will reassure us that we are right and they are wrong. That’s human nature. That’s why before he started to give correction and rebuke in his letter, James wrote with the wisdom God gave him “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ^for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” (James 1:19-20)

Now, you should know that a leader cops more admonishment than any other member of a church. There is an accountability system within the leadership team whereby leaders are constantly being challenged about decisions, attitudes and behaviours. There are always people with disagreements and disgruntlements that leaders need to listen to and evaluate carefully. Because a leader cannot show favouritism to any particular group, it sometimes seems that he or she cops flak from all directions!

We all need to learn to carefully listen to admonishment, to consider it prayerfully and allow God to refine us. Not everything people say will be accurate. Sometimes leaders misjudge people’s actions and heart motives too. But loving communication, humility of spirit and openness to God should enable us to work these things through.

I don’t have too much of a problem respecting and loving those who I agree with. I don’t mind respecting those who stand against the things I don’t like and stand for the things I do like. But to love and respect someone who even goes as far as correcting me and pointing out errors in my life? That is a bit hard to swallow! But that’s the sort of community that God wants us to be.

A failure among Christians to love and respect their leaders is perhaps the biggest single reason for the emotional burnout of pastors and lay leaders. Certainly among the Pastors I have contact with it is the single most difficult aspect of their ministry.

I want to give you a couple of practical suggestions that I hope will help you as you seek to obey this command of Scripture.

· Work on your love life

You don’t tear down people you care about, so you need to do all you can to develop a real care for your leaders. The Bible says that love covers over a multitude of sins. Have you ever noticed that the sporting team that you care about commits less genuine fouls and plays a lot fairer than the opposition team? Have you ever noticed how you will justify behaviour of someone close to you more than someone you disapprove of? None of us are purely objective – our perception is affected by how we feel about people and our loyalty to them. If we work on our love by getting to know our leaders and praying with them and for them, we will find it much easier to respect them and submit to their authority.

· Grow in knowledge

The word translated “respect” in verse 12 actually means “to know”. In other words, we should understand and appreciate the work that leaders do for our sakes. It is easy to make judgements in ignorance, and we cannot all be involved to the same degree in the work of leadership. But by talking with leaders and taking the time to notice what they do, you gain an appreciation for them and the ministry God has called them to. Where there are disagreements or concerns, share them openly and be prepared to listen with an open heart and mind to the response. Often, when you have taken the effort to get to know leaders well and develop a real care for them, you are content to disagree with certain things because you trust the integrity and the calling of the ones God has given that responsibility to.

Don’t be someone that tears down the church or its leaders. Be someone who builds up.

Being Ready for the Day of the Lord

The Coming Day of the Lord

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

17/06/07

1 Thess 5:1-11

Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, ² for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labour pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

⁴ But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. ⁵ You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. ⁶ So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. ⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. ⁹ For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁰ He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. ¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Last week’s passage spoke about the coming rapture of God’s people – the time when we will be caught up in the air to be united together with Christ. The theme of that passage was comfort and encouragement for God’s people.

Today the focus turns to the “day of the Lord”. Is it the same as the rapture? Does it happen at the same time as the rapture? The theme of the passage today is one of warning and encouragement to be ready. What is it about the day of the Lord that we need to be ready for? These are some of the issues that we will be addressing today.

Opening Prayer

What is the Day of the Lord?

The phrase “Day of the Lord” occurs quite frequently in the Bible when prophets are foretelling a time of God dramatically intervening in the affairs of this world to bring either blessing or judgement. It is most often used to warn people that God is going to punish them for their sins, and that punishment is going to be terrible to behold.

Here’s an example from Isaiah chapter 13…

Isaiah 13:9-11

⁹ See, the day of the Lord is coming

—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—

to make the land desolate

and destroy the sinners within it.

¹⁰ The stars of heaven and their constellations

will not show their light.

The rising sun will be darkened

and the moon will not give its light.

¹¹ I will punish the world for its evil,

the wicked for their sins.

I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty

and will humble the pride of the ruthless.

This prophecy in Isaiah is part of an announcement of judgement that God gave Isaiah in regard to the nation of Babylon. On other occasions the day of the Lord is also used to refer to a time that God was going to judge a specific nation or city, but it was also used in reference to a time when God will judge the whole world for its sins. The focus often shifts from the specific group and zooms out to a time of global significance, just as it does in this passage in Isaiah.

The central figure in the Day of the Lord is Jesus Christ. It is He who brings both blessing and judgement to the Earth.

When we are looking at passages which deal with the day of the Lord, it is helpful to keep in mind this basic view of human history:

The Kingdom of Man exists because Adam chose to reject God’s authority, and in him the human race declared it’s autonomy from God. Ever since, all people have sinned and fallen short of the standard of God and His Kingdom. The Kingdom of God broke into the Kingdom of Man in the form of Jesus Christ (1). Through His earthly ministry and the establishment of the Church, God’s Kingdom is now here. It is the age of grace, where people are invited to experience God’s forgiveness and enter into God’s Kingdom. This is the Year of the Lord’s Favour (2), also known as the Last Days, because they precede the final judgement of God upon the Earth, which is known as “The Day of the Lord”(3).

Obviously, the Year of the Lord’s Favour is more than one year, just as the “Day of the Lord” is more than one day. There are different opinions about exactly how the events of the day of the Lord will pan out which make for a very interesting study, but we must not lose sight of the main point, which is that however it happens, we must be ready.

Let’s briefly look at 2 passages which refer to this plan of history:

Luke 4:14-21

¹⁴ Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. ¹⁵ He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

¹⁶ He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. ¹⁷ The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to release the oppressed,

¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

²⁰ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, ²¹ and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

I want you to understand the significance of this passage. Jesus is at the early stages of His ministry. He has recently completed his preparation for ministry in His baptism and time of testing in the desert. Luke, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, chooses this as the first words of Jesus concerning His mission on earth. His mission is to announce and bring into effect the year of the Lord’s favour. This period of time was made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and was brought into effect by the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (which we’ll look at in just a minute). First, though, it’s worth noting that Jesus stops mid-sentence in the prophecy that He is reading from Isaiah 61. He stops mid sentence because the rest of the prophecy refers to a time which is not yet upon us, but is yet to come. Let’s look at the original passage from Isaiah together…

Isaiah 61

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

because the Lord has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the blind,

² to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the Lord

for the display of his splendour.

⁴ They will rebuild the ancient ruins

and restore the places long devastated;

they will renew the ruined cities

that have been devastated for generations.

⁵ Aliens will shepherd your flocks;

foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.

⁶ And you will be called priests of the Lord,

you will be named ministers of our God.

You will feed on the wealth of nations,

and in their riches you will boast.

The rest of the passage talks about a time of judgement on the nations. A time of Jesus’ physical rule over this world and prosperity for the nation of Israel. That has not been fulfilled, and Jesus never intended to fulfil that prophecy at His first coming. Right at the beginning of His earthly ministry Jesus proclaims that He is bringing in an age of grace where people will be liberated from bondage to Satan. The time of judgement is yet to come.

Let’s look at our second passage, from Joel chapter 2. This passage was quoted by Peter to explain what was happening at the feast of Pentecost when the Apostles were preaching to the crowd in the native languages of their listeners.

Joel 2:28-32

²⁸ ‘And afterward,

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your old men will dream dreams,

your young men will see visions.

²⁹ Even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

³⁰ I will show wonders in the heavens

and on the earth,

blood and fire and billows of smoke.

³¹ The sun will be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

³² And everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord will be saved…”

This prophecy looks forward to the inauguration of the Church when God poured out His Spirit on people. This Spirit is available to all people – not just the Jews. Men and women from every nation would now become partakers of the Spirit of God. We are living in the days talked about in verse 29. However the focus of the prophecy then moves to the events immediately prior to “the great and dreadful day of the Lord”, mentioning signs that are also talked about in the book of Revelation and other places as being part of the process leading to final judgment.

So with this basic knowledge of the what the “day of the Lord” refers to, let’s have a closer look at our passage in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5…

(use bibles, other passages on screen)

Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, ² for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labour pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

When we look back at Jesus’ earthly ministry, we can see that He did indeed come just at the right time, as it says in Romans 5:6. We can identify a large number of reasons why the time was just right for Christ to enter human history at that particular moment. However we can only do that in hindsight.

Christ’s second coming will happen in a similar sort of way. When it happens, it will make complete sense and God’s timing will again be shown to be perfect. Until then, we are not to be distracted by speculation about times and dates. We know that it will happen suddenly and unexpectedly, so we should expect it any time.

However it will catch most people by surprise. People will be saying “Peace and safety”. People will be secure in a world without God. People will be content to believe that God either does not exist or that He is not involved with us any longer.

Peter writes about this in his second letter to the churches.

2 Peter 3:1-10

Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. ² I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Saviour through your apostles.

³ First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. ⁴ They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” ⁵ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. ⁶ By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. ⁷ By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

⁸ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

Just as in the days of Noah, most people will scoff at the idea of a God who will judge the world. “Where is this God?” they will say. “You’ve been threatening judgment for the last 2 thousand years and more. If it was going to happen, it would have happened long before now.”

On the contrary, Peter explains, God has set a period of grace to enable people the opportunity of turning from their independence and rebellion and choosing to be reconciled to Him by faith in Jesus. He has established His Church to provide people with a glimpse of what His Kingdom is like. His people are to demonstrate His character and proclaim His truth. We are not to be like this world, we are to be like the world to come. Jesus told us to go into all the world and make disciples. That is the purpose of the age of grace, the year of the Lord’s favour.

Noah preached and warned his generation for a hundred years, but only his family were saved. In a similar way we are to preach and warn our generation for as long as the Lord gives us. In the same way only those who choose to belong to the family of God will be saved on the day of judgement.

For those who reject God’s salvation, there is only the promise of inevitable destruction. Very often Scripture uses the imagery of birth pains to describe the experience of the day of the Lord. If you are a woman who has experienced what it is like to give birth, you have an advantage over the rest of us when it comes to understanding this passage.

I have supported Carolyn through 2 such experiences, and I would probably describe the onset of the pains and the subsequent delivery as pretty traumatic. Particularly with Tim, Carolyn went through a lot of pain. However there was never any doubt that the pain was worth it. Bringing forth that new life was a struggle, and that is how the Bible talks about the day of the Lord. It is going to be very, very painful. However it is necessary in order to bring about the new life that we long for – a world free from sin and death. A world where we enjoy the presence of our God.

But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. ⁵ You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. ⁶ So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. ⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. ⁹ For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁰ He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. ¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

While we do not know when it will happen, when it does happen we will not be surprised if we are living in expectation. Those who have been saved through faith in Jesus will not face the coming wrath of God’s judgement. Whether we are alive at the time of Christ’s return or are resurrected at His appearance, we will be united with Him and separated from the world at the time when God’s judgement is revealed. Therefore we do not fear the day of the Lord, but anticipate it. While we wait, we endeavour to prepare ourselves and we try to help others prepare for its coming.

Or do we?

Luke 12:32-34

³² “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

1 Timothy 6:11-19

¹¹ But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you ¹⁴ to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

¹⁷ Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. ¹⁹ In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Today I want to urge you to take hold of the life that is truly life. This world is passing away. We are living in the last days, and we have no idea of how long they will last. The day of the Lord is coming. You do not know how long you have on this earth, or how long this earth has left! Be prepared.

In order to be prepared you need to do 2 things:

• Turn to Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord. He is the one who has purchased your freedom. His death paid the price for your sins and His resurrection demonstrated the power of God to give you new life, eternal life. He is the rightful boss of your life and you can either acknowledge His authority now by choice or later when you will have no choice. God is holding back the hour of judgement, wanting more people to come into His family and experience His goodness forever. Don’t waste the opportunity God has given you.
• Lay up for yourself treasure in Heaven. You do this by living a pure and obedient life. A life that glorifies God and shines his truth and love to all those who you come into contact with. Sincerely living for God gives us confidence that when we see Him face to face we will not need to be ashamed, but we will be able to rejoice in the pleasure our Lord takes in us and the reward He bestows upon us.

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^a Some manuscripts be burned up

God and Drugs!

OK, so we’ve talked about God and sex, now we’ll talk about God and drugs and maybe one day we’ll get on to God and Rock’n’Roll!

There’s a lot of misinformation about what the Church and individual Christians believe about drugs – both the legal and illegal ones, so I thought that maybe it would be a good idea to shed some light on the subject.

Remember the whole deal with God and Sex? Sex is good inside the boundaries that God has set for it. Outside those boundaries it falls short of the goodness that God intended for it. If you want God’s best for your life, stick within the boundaries that He has established.

That’s the basic message that goes with drugs as well. But what are the boundaries for drugs?

It’s actually pretty simple. The Bible talks about 4 things that we should keep in mind:

1. People should obey the laws of the land

(Romans 13:1-7)

Simply put: if something is illegal, don’t do it! If a substance is illegal or should not be supplied to a certain age group or consumed in certain environments then that’s what we should stick by. Laws are there for a reason, and just because you might not agree with them doesn’t give you the right to break them. If everybody did that, what sort of society would we have?

2. People should be “self-controlled”

(eg: Titus 2:2,5; Galatians 5:23 and lots more!)

In other words, we should be in a fit state to govern our own behaviour. There are all sorts of substances which change our brain chemistry to produce sensations that might seem pleasurable, but they are also dangerous. They take away our ability to make wise decisions about our behaviour. Sometimes this produces “Dutch courage” where people have the nerve to do things they usually talk themselves out of, but usually the result is that people do things that they normally are smart enough not to do! For example in one study “two-thirds of partner abuse victims (those abused by a current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend) reported that alcohol had been a factor; for spouse abuse victims, the offender was drinking in three out of four cases.” (Greenfeld, 1998). There are many other statistics which relate to sexual crime, irresponsible sexual conduct, irresponsible driving and so on which demonstrate the danger of a loss of self-control. Staggeringly, it is something that we don’t take as seriously as we should in our society.

The Bible does not condemn the consumption of alcohol, in fact it is praised on a number of occasions! However it does condemn the overuse of alcohol (or anything else) to the point where a person’s good judgement and self-control are adversely affected. Lack of self control leads to people harming themselves and others, which God does not approve of.

3. People should respect their bodies.

Our bodies are a gift from God, and should be treated with respect. Some substances are harmful to our bodies, and to knowingly harm your own body is both a little silly and a bit of an insult to the One who gave it to you. Many substances are fine in moderation – what is needed is a healthy balance. Be wise in what you consume! Don’t pay the price later for poor decisions and lifestyles now.

4. People should look out for others.

(eg: Romans 15:2)

The Bible says that if what you do causes problems for others, don’t do it! For example, many Christians over the centuries have given up drinking alcohol out of sensitivity to others who might struggle with alcohol addiction or other issues. Think about how what you do affects those around you, and determine to be a good influence rather than a problem to others.

Well, that’s it in a nutshell – I hope that you agree that it’s pretty good advice from God to us!

For more information and helpful advice visit:

www.adf.org.au – Australian Drug Foundation

www.adin.com.au – Australian Drug Information Network

www.lifeline.org.au or call 13 11 14 – Lifeline

Mike Birch