God’s Promise to Make You Holy | 1 Thessalonians 5:1-28

Show Notes

Episode 835: 
In this episode, we explore the promises of God as outlined in 1 Thessalonians 5. We read through the chapter, emphasizing the importance of being alert and prepared for the return of the Lord, and how we are called to live as children of the light. We discuss the significance of community within the church, encouraging our listeners to honor their leaders, support one another, and actively participate in building each other up.

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You're listening to the Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in practical ways. Hey, everybody, it is Friday, and we're hoping, we're hopefully you're excited. Maybe it's your last day at work today, or or maybe you're a weekend warrior and maybe this is the first big day. Maybe you we're at a restaurant and. Yeah, but we're all grateful it's Friday. You're buckling up for a. Friday, that's right. Yeah, but either way, thanks tuning. It's it's always very great, says Tony the Tigers. You're wearing sort of orange today. Look at you, and all you gotta do is put your hand up when you say it. There you go. So, hey, listen, welcome to the Bible Guys. Thanks for tuning in, and we're gonna be talking about First Thessalonians chapter five today. Yeah, which is a good one. It's good. But before we do that, we have a segment that we are very excited. Yes, well, normally on a Friday, the highlight of everybody's week is what made Chris math this. Yeah, not today, but we also have a significant highlight that our fan base. Our long timers know they this is incredibly important because we bring an important service to our people. We bring important news. We scour the internet for news or for special interest pieces or good parenting suggestions. And I would say ninety percent of the time when we read from this, I'm very It makes me very happy. Yes, me too. It's very funny. So we find our very best news on the Babylon Bee website we do, which is probably as good as any other news source out there. More beneficial. I doesn't say, way more beneficial than most, yes, most news sources. And if you don't know, the Babylon b is a satire website, very funny. They don't sponsor us at all. They should. I don't know sponsors all, but you should. You should check them out. They're funny. Anyways, this one is it has a hey do you know what? Do you know what this month is? It's a thirty fifth anniversary of Home Alone. That's incredible the Christmas movie. Yeah, isn't that amazing? It's really It makes me feel pretty old. So with Home Alone the spirit of Home Alone in our minds. This headline says, reminder, if you leave your kids home alone this holiday season. Make sure they have plenty of paid cans, blow torches, and a cutout of Michael Jordan. That's the headline if you've seen the movie Okay, says. US authorities issued a public service announcement in time for the holiday season, reminding parents that if they leave their children home alone, they just ensure that they have access to plenty of paiate cans, a blowtorch, and a cardboard cutout of Michael Jordan. In a pinch, a cardboard cutout of Shaquille O'Neil would also be acceptable. The Federal Administration for Children and Families held the press conference on Wednesday, and which it called in the public to remain vigilant throughout the holidays by keeping a sufficient supply of paint cans, blow torches, bowling balls, nail guns, tar micromachines, hot irons, old gangster movies, and tarantulas. We know the holiday season is a busy time of year and attempting to leave your kids alone at home while you run errands or fly to Europe, But if you do, we're asking you to do the right thing. Make sure they have access to your tool shed, and to cutout a major sports figure FACF director Richard Keller said, and please keep in mind your state's self defense laws to determine if a Michael Jordan cut out, our cardboard cutout is right for your family. Families were also being encouraged to hit stores early to stock up on supplies for all the feathers and large fans were sold out. Do not wait for Black Friday sales. It'll be too late, authorities warned at publishing time. Authorities had also encouraged families to make friends with a kindly old man who Selt sidewalks on their street. That's so funny. So you definitely have to have seen Home Alone. So so, did you ever see the cartoon version where it actually says if Home Alone's thieves were normal, reasonable people or something like that. Oh no, it's pretty funny where it's like they walked in and they walked in through the through the door, and in the one thief books at the other and goes, hey, watch your step. There's there's broken glassrooms and the guy goes, oh, thanks, and he steps over it and he goes, yeah, did you have any trouble getting in? He goes, well, he goes, I want to go reach for the doorknob, he goes, and it was a little hot, so I immediately let it go, and I decided to not keep my hand on it, he goes, So I just came in through the window or something like that. But it's just hilarious, how you know, Like you've got to be a pretty dumb thief in order to fall for it. But I gotta admit, I want to go watch the movie again. Oh yeah, it's a classics, right well. I love the line in this one where it says, we know it's tempting to leave your kids alone at home while you're on errands or fly to Europe, right right, right, It's so good. Yeah. And you know what the best part about home alone for me at the time is, even back in nineteen ninety, I was, you know, just graduating high school and in college, and I actually remember seeing the preview back then, and I remember my buddy and I talked about it and I said, there's not been this is a brand news story, like nobody's nobody's come up with this story. This is an original idea, yeah, right, The idea of like leaving your kid home, that's a that's an original idea back then, and I actually thought to myself, Wow, that's gonna be great because it's it's a brand new. Here we are thirty five years later and we still don't have something better. Yeah, well I thought elf Elf was original. That's a good story. Yeah. Yeah, it is an original idea. And uh, it's actually really hard today to come up with an original story. A lot of stories are like you know, you're like, oh, Avatar, that's just dancing with wolves. Yeah, just recycled on a planet, right, it's like that's what it is. Yeah, And it's like. Yeah, but then you see a brand new movie come out that has a brand new idea and you're like, wreck it. Ralph and it was a kid's it was a Pixar film. But it's like what it's like a bad guy wanting to be good and in video games. I mean it was brilliant. I remember thinking I saw record Ralph for. The first bad guy. Doesn't make me bad guy? Right, right? I remember thinking like, this is a brilliant script because it's brand new, right, and you look at the theater now, it's like it's like you got the Running Man, you get all that stuff. It's it's all the recycled stuff, right, now so. Anyway, well, we're not going to recycle anything today. We're bringing original opinions. Yes on second, third, or first That'salonians chapter five. That's right. We're not going to recycle some old you know commentary. That's right there it is, that's right, that's right. We are pulling it right off the top of our head and making this stuff off as we go. So if you're new to our show, wow, it's so greats. Don't rely on some well versed you know, a group of guys who get together and scholars, scholars who you know bring you like great information to you. Just just so, the whole premise behind our podcast if you're new, is that we are two friends who like to talk about the b in fun and practical ways, and we really do take our faith seriously. We just don't take ourselves too seriously. So we laugh a lot. Yeh works around. We have a little bit of fun, bring your very critical news and special interest pieces sometimes, but we also like talking about the Bible. And today we're talking about God's promises and we are in first that Saloneiast chapter five, and our big promise today is in verse twenty four. But we just decided we're going to read from the very beginning of chapter five, says now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don't really need to write to you, for you know quite well that the day of the Lord's return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying everything is peaceful and secure, then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman's labor paints begin, and there will be no escape. But you aren't in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won't be surprised when the day the Lord comes like a thief, for you are all children of the light and of the day. You don't belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like others, Stay alert and be clear headed. Night is the time when people sleep and drinker get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clear headed, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing is our helmet, the confidence of our salvation. For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us, so that whether we are dead or alive, when He returns, we can live with him forever. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are doing already. Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord's work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work, and live peaceably with each other. Brothers and sisters. We urge you to warn those who are lazy, encourage those who are timid, take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. See that no one pays back evil for evil, But always try to do good to each other and to all people. Always be joyful, never stop praying, be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you, who belong to Christ Jesus. Do not stifle the Holy spirit. Do not scoff at price ophees, but test everything that is said, Hold on to what is good, Stay away from every kind of evil. Now that may may the God of Peace make you holy in every way. May your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful. Dear brothers and sisters, pray for us. Greet all the brothers and sisters with the sacred kiss. I command you, in the name of the Lord, to read this letter to all the brothers and sisters, and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Doesn't sound that sound like the end of Hebrews, right, I'm just saying right, right, if you missed it. At the beginning of that, we talked about Hebrews, and we argued about who are we debated about who was the author of Hebrews, And I just said that the last chapter of Hebrews feels like the last chapter of most books that Paul wrote. And here it is right here, right, same way, and by. The way our operator verses verse twenty four, where it says God will make all this happen, for he who calls you is faithful. That's right. So it's again just another promise in a different context about God's faithfulness. So the same promise, just different context. So Paul is writing to the church in Thessalonica, and he's giving final advice, just like Jeff said, Hey, don't forget these ten things at the very end, and he's just reminding us that God is faithful, right, pray for us. He's going down on the line. But again, just this wonderful reminder that God is always going to be faithful to us in all different scenarios is great. You know, there's a note that I was glancing at. Oh, I know it was. It was Paul's final advice for church leaders. Right, So in verse number twelve through like twenty two, Basically he talks about, you know, honoring church leaders who are in God's will and you know, just to follow them and how they work hard and invest in you. So there's a note here that says this, it is tragic when believers neglect or ignore the local church. No family is perfect, and no local churches perfect. But without a family to protect him and to provide for him, a child would suffer and die. The child of God needs the church family if he is to grow, developing his gifts and serve God. Right, and then has another note here about spiritual leaders in spite of their limitations, God's spiritual leaders should be respected and obeyed unless it's obvious that they are out of God's will. As the spiritual leaders of the church meet together, plan, pray, and seek and follow God's will, we can be sure that God will rule and overrule in the decisions that they make. The result of the church's family following the spiritual leaders will be peace and harmony in the church. Now, as church leaders, we love that, yes, because there are people who they lose sight of that, don't they. You know, one of the funniest one of the funniest comments that I made was we have a discipleship class at Heritage called one oh one and we do one on one to a one three oh one, four one and one one sort of like an introduction to Heritage. It covers membership, it covers baptism, salvation and these are basics, but we do it pretty deep dive, right, and then we do membership Covenant and you know, the rules of the Church and things like this. But anyway, there's a section in there that talks about our structure. I think it's under the structure where it talks about disunity understructure, and so it basically says, hey, listen, if you come to Heritage, just know that we're not going to do a lot of voting. We're not a big committee church, and voting tends to divide. We do, we do vote on the important things, but you know you're not going to come here expecting to vote on the paint on the walls and things like that. But here's my favorite part. My favorite part is that says disunity causes strife and sin, and then we always have a Bible verse or two Bible verses to back up that. But on the disunity part, we have like seventeen hundred Bible. Yeah, a bunch. I mean, it's it's legitimately, and if you don't believe me, there's twenty five verses. Yeah, it's probably like twenty five verses, and it just lists verse after verse after verse, and I just I make a joke about it every time because I'm like, hey, listen, I'm like, if you're wondering why the other points have two Bible verses to back it up, you know, based off of what God's word says. Here's twenty five that's say, if you're coming to Heritage Church and you plan on causing just unity, this is not a church that welcomes in. Yeah. Well, Paul was so aggressive against unity, disunity he's frustrated in First Corinthians, he's frustrated in the Second Corinthians. He challenges him here at Thesalonaika, he challenges them an Ephesians. Right, unity is so important, and we're supposed to act like brothers and sisters are supposed to build up and encourage. I think it's interesting from verse eleven to the end of the chapter, he's really hitting this idea of being encouraging. Always be joyful brothers, Honor those who are your leaders. Right, there's this honor idea. There's a respect idea. In verse thirteen, there's a challenge, warn nos idea. Encourage those who are timid, take tender care those who be patient. Right, he's talking about all these behaviors. Yep, anybody can be away full. Don't stifle the Holy Spirit. Yeah yeah, never stop praying, don't scoff all these things. So there's a note in the Life Application Study Bible for encouragers. I think it's interesting. A lot of people tell me I'm just not really sure what God wants me to do in the church, and what they're saying is I'm not a preacher, I'm not a singer. I really don't have a desire to serve the children or the teenagers? Am I supposed to do? And I always say, then probably your goal God's God's plan for you is to be an encourager. Right, anybody can be an encourager. Not all of us have a skill set to be a Bible teacher, a singer, or a children's worker, but we can all be part of the crowd cheering on, celebrating, encouraging one another. Right, do you think you're good at that? No? Encouraging, I'm I'm not great at current encouraging. I want to be you, Are I am? I think I was about to say, no, I'm not. No, Maybe I just maybe it's just that I long to be so much more. Maybe, But I actually I was about to say, I don't think that I am. But if you think I am, maybe I'm better in a thing. I get to the work of it, and so I'm moving on to the next thing, the next thing, the next thing. I'm alwas trying to make a thing better. I have to really, really really work to remember to encourage people. But there's some people you get around them and you feel like a million bucks when you Bob Harvey, the founding pastor. Head is true. On my word, you can't be around that guy for five minutes. What he is. Man, I'm ready when I'm done talking to Bob Harvey, I'm ready to charge hell with a squirt gun. Yeah he is. I just I'm so excited. He's like Barnabas. I know. He just encourages everybody can be if we would choose to be encouraging. And so in the life appicationis study Bible. It points these out. Here are the commands. By the way, the last twenty times I've seen Bob Harvey, I bet you twenty of twenty, he always says, We're so glad that your heritage. Man, We're so thankful, You're so great. And I'm just like, oh my gosh, I'm I love this guy. I love this guy. Bob hug me right right, yeah, And he's probably listening to the podcast right now. But the Bible says this, from verse eleven to verse twenty three. He tells us build each other up. Yep, right, that's point out some quality about something that you appreciate about him. Honor your leaders, look for ways to cooperate with the people that are authority. Show your leader's great respect, hold back from making critical comments about those in position responsibility, and instead thank them for their efforts. Live in peace, So search for ways to get along is what he's saying there. That's an act of when you're living in piece, you're actively choosing peace. You're looking for ways to cooperate. Warn the lazy. So it's important we got to challenge people. Sometimes challenge someone to join you in a project might be the best way to do that. Hey, hey, don't sit on sidelines. Get involved. Come on, it's recruiting is really what it is. Encourage the timid right, Remind those that are timid of God's promises. Hey, don't be afraid God, It's going to take care of you. Take care of the week. Support those for a week by loving them and praying for them. Be patient. That's a hard one, but we can choose patience. Resist revenge verse fifteen. Resist revenge instead of planning to get even with somebody, do good to them. Be joyful is in verse sixteen. Remember that even in the midst of turmoil, God's and control, so we can have joy because He's the winner. I read the back of the book, Jesus wins. Everything else is incidental to the fact that he wins. Never stop praying in verse seventeen, because God's always with you, so keep talking to him. That's why you can be joyful. Verse eighteen. Give thanks. That's a good way to start, right. Make a list of all the things that God's given to you and done for you. Don't stifle the Holy Spirit. Instead, the better thing is to cooperate the Holy Spirit. Next time he prompts you, if you think of something good to do, do it. You think something good to say, say it right. Don't hold back what the Holy Spirit say to you. Instead, act on it. Don't scoff at prophecies. And He's best basically saying, receive God's words from those are speaking. Stay away from every kind of evil, avoid situations where you're gonna be drawn into temptation, and then count on God's constant help. Realize that Christian life is to be lived not in our own strength, but through God's power. That's such a dude. If you can only have one chapter on what it means to be a follower of Jesus, how you should be living first, Thessalonians is right up there. With Romanswel I say, yeah, it's not a bad chapter. Verst. Scealonians five and Romans twelve, I think are the two best passages that say. Just do this. Yeah, oh, I don't know what God's will it's for me. How about just take that chapter and start working on those fifteen things? Right? Was it? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, twelve, thirteen, fourteen? Yeah, fifteen? Wow, look at you bank? Yeah, I was noticing it was in groups of five, that's why. Yeah, So that's that's actually pretty amazing. You know, I remember teaching verse number nineteen. I did a whole little devotion one time on that one verse and you and I memorized it as do not grieve the Holy Spirit, right, the Holy Spirit of God, but do not stifle the Holy Spirit. How would a person stifle the Holy Spirit? How can a person, you know grieve the Holy Spirit? What is your belief on that? Well, I think it literally means here, don't hold back. What the Holy Spirit is trying to do in you or in others is really what it's talking about. Yeah, yeah, I think so too. And I think in a corporate setting, because after all, he's talking about church leaders and being a part of the church and working and everything else and what they're teaching. I think in that context when he says do not grieve the Holy Spirit or stifle the Holy Spirit, I always looked at it as when you decide to place yourself above what the Holy Spirit is trying to do. And so like, for instance, let's just say you're in the middle of a you know, a message or maybe a worship set or something, and in the Holy Spirit is doing a work you as a family of believers, and then somebody else decides to make a joke or draw attention to themselves or you know, start talking on purpose or or you know, or worshiped heckle the speaker or something, right, but whatever whatever they might do to take the attention off of what the Holy Spirit is doing and then to bring it on to something else. Yeah, and much much of the case, it's themselves, right, and and and so yeah, grieving the work of the Holy Spirit. You basically said the same thing if if Holy spirit's working in you, or is working in you, or maybe he's working in a corporate setting among you, it's it's all that stuff. So yeah, I've always really enjoyed that concept. And when Paul is talking about respecting the church and everything that God wants to do through the church. I love receiving it through that context. I think that it also has a lot to do with spiritual gifts. There, don't stifle the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit in the church. I think because and the reason I say that it is he writes so much about this idea to the Ephesians, to the Corinthians, to the Romans. He talks a lot about how the church is supposed to function in spiritual gifts, and he's kind of cruising through very quickly, high level, all these things that should be happening in the church. I think he's talking here, don't don't stifle how the Holy Spirit works through people. Yeah, well, the very next verse does say, don't scoff at prophecies. Right, a gift, which is the preaching side of things, bringing God's word to God's people. And so if that's the case, then you know, I think there's a tendency in churches sometimes the big mercy people all they can see as an opportunity to do good, pass out, you know, charity, do all the good, and they get frustrated with the leaders who put limits on things going well, we're going to manage the budget. We're gonna do this thing. And leaders sometimes can get frustrated with people who are pure mercy and go these people they just have no sense at all about how to do well. The people who have the spiritual gift of leadership shouldn't stifle the generosity of the mercy people, right, And the mercy people shouldn't stifle the wisdom and the leadership of the leaders. Right. God gives spiritual gifts for different in different ways. I think we as we come up. It's natural for every generation to think that the next generation's music doesn't honor God, and so then they want to stifle the next generation from worshiping, right, And I think that that's part of that, right, what the Holy Spirit's doing the whole It's half a dozen times in the Book of Psalms David says, sing a new song to the Lord. But we get mad when they sing a new song, right, Right, I don't like it. That's not the Holy Spirit whatever. So I think we have to just be aware that the Holy spirits are doing things through people, and he's using different spiritual gifts, and not everybody has my spiritual gift and I can't project my spiritual gift on everybody else. But I also have to be thankful for the fact that others have gifts I don't have. And then we celebrate those things. And then as you take all those things, let me finish it up with this, because I think that's important. I read those fifteen things right, build each other up, honor your leaders, live in peace, encourage the timid, whatever, as we're choosing to live this way. And he talks about then being holy and all these things, and he's talking about living in the holy spirit, hold on to what is good, stay away from every kind of evil. Then he ends it with so, now, may the God of Peace make you holy in every way. Right. Holy just means set apart for God. He's taking you out of the world, and he's setting apart for his use. And may your whole spirit and your whole soul and your whole body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. He said, man, I want everything about you to become more and more like Jesus and less and less less and less sinful until you're blameless. And then he says, God will make this happen for he who calls you as faithful. This promise is the promise that God will continue to make you holy when you make these kind of efforts. Build each other up, build up the church, encourage one and one another. Don't stifle the holy spirit. Uh, you know, hold on to what is good, stay away from every kind of evil. And then when you're making those choices, God will make you more and more and more like Jesus and it'll be amazing. Six months from now, a year from now, three years from now, you're gonna look back and go, Man, God's brought me a long way. Yeah, there's been times in my life I look back at my life and go, I can't believe how far God, I'm nothing like the person I used to be. Right right, and that's a good thing. So many ways in the right direction. And it says God will make this happen for he who calls us faithful. That's the promise. Yep, that's great. Well, that sounds like a great place to end wrap up. So hey, well pick up with another theme of God's promises next week, and we hope you join us on the Bible. Guys,