1 Thessalonians, continue there this morning in chapter 5. I think that’s on page 1,257 of your pew Bibles. 1 Thessalonians 5. beginning at verse 12. Let’s give attention to the very Word of God. We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly and love because of their work.
Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything. Hold fast to what is good. abstain from every form of evil. Thus far in the word of God. Amen.
Please be seated. Would you pray with me? Our Father and our God, as we have now read your word, we’d ask that you would add your blessing to it. That you would pour into our hearts this morning, Lord. That you’ve ordained this day from eternity past, you’ve ordained this passage, and Father, you know what we need. And so we pray, work on our hearts. Help us, Lord, fashion them after Christ’s. As we read these words, your words, so much. Guide us now to what you would have us to hear from you. We ask this in Jesus’s name. Amen. Is your walk worthy of Jesus Christ? Do you ever think about that? Is your walk worthy of Christ?
Think about the Israelites when they had been delivered from the Egyptians. After those ten plagues had taken place and the Egyptians were coming after them and they were bounded in by the Red Sea and And God provided a way across on dry land. And now they’re looking down upon the Egyptian army, which had just been decimated by the Red Sea, which had come back upon them.
And Moses and all the people of Israel sang a song. I will sing to the Lord. He has triumphed gloriously. Lord is my strength, my song, he has become my salvation. Those were their words. Then about 30 days after the Passover, 30 days after the exodus from Egypt, about 30 days after the last plague, as they’re in the wilderness now and they’re setting out from Elim and they’re coming into the wilderness of sin, they begin to grumble. The whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, and we sat by meat pots and ate bread to the full. Where was the respect and esteem for Moses and Aaron? Where was the deliverance that they had just experienced? Where was their love for the Lord? Where was their walk? In a sense, that brings us to our passage this morning in 1 Thessalonians. We know that Paul was called there by that Macedonian vision that he had had.
And as he goes through various places, he comes to Thessalonica and is able to, as the scripture puts it, reason. with the people there for three Lord’s days in the synagogue. And many came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And as a result of this preaching, the city was set in an uproar and they were forced to leave.
And now Paul is writing this letter back to that church that he might encourage them and see how they’re doing. This letter As we know, as we’re coming to the end of it, it is full of doctrinal truth. They have been chosen by God, they’ve been elected, that Satan is at work, that suffering is part of Christian life, that there will be temptations, and he is calling them away from them. He’s calling them to walk in a certain way, to please God. And that brings us, in a sense, to this last section, or second to last section, of this very short letter to this very young church.
The doctrine has been set forth. The truths have been set down. And Paul has already given them some instruction, but it’s not enough. In kind of shotgun manner or fire hydrant fashion, Paul is now spewing out many aspects and attributes of the Christian life in a very short order.
Respect those who labor among you. Esteem them. Be at peace among yourselves. Admonish the idle. Encourage the faint-hearted. Help the weak. Be patient. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances. Don’t quench the spirit, don’t despise prophecies, test everything, hold fast what is good, abstain from every form of evil. The fire hydrant.
Our mode this morning is not going to be to take up these individually, but as Paul has set them forth to take them up mostly collectively. Because that’s what he did with this church. It would be certainly profitable for each of us to take time and meditate upon each of these, either this afternoon or throughout this week, or maybe for the next three weeks, on each one of these individual calls. Help the weak. Encourage the faint-hearted. Be patient.
But this morning, this morning we’re gonna be drinking from that fire hydrant that the Spirit has opened up for us. As we go through these verses this morning, I’d like us to see that the Spirit of Christ causes followers of Jesus to keep looking above, such that they will walk worthily of the living God. The Spirit of Christ causes the followers of Jesus to keep looking above, such that they walk worthily of the living God. We’ll see that in three points this morning.
Walk in a way that remembers your calling. Walk in a way that looks up or outside of yourself. And then thirdly, walk in a way that follows Jesus. As we’re going through this passage this morning, I’d like you to be asking yourself that question again. Is my walk worthy of Christ? First, walk in a way that remembers your calling.
As we have already noted, Paul sets forth this barrage of asks. We ask you, brother. This is Paul’s way of pastorally addressing the congregation. He’s not commanding them, in a sense he really is, but he’s asking them. He’s urging them. And he’s urging them first to respect those who labor among you, who are over you, and esteem them. Esteem the pastors, the elders, the the teachers who serve you as they labor in the word. And as they labor in the word, as Paul wrote to those in Ephesus, they labor to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ. That’s the labor, that’s the work that they’re about.
And he’s saying respect them, esteem them, highly in love. Why? Because of their work. Because this is what they’re doing. They’re equipping you for the work of ministry. They’re building you up as the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of faith. And so we ask them, respect them, esteem them highly in love. And that seems to be the beginning of this entire passage. Esteem them, respect them, for they’re giving you the word.
Listen to it, receive it in love, because everything else in this passage flows from what they’re going to be hearing from their preachers. It flows out of it. Be at peace. Admonish the idle. Encourage the faint-hearted. Be patient. Seek to do good. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances.
In a sense, as they listen to their preachers, as they listen to their teachers, They’re going to be going back to what Paul has already preached to them previously during those three Lord’s days. And we see it in the second chapter of this short letter at verses 11 and 12. For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God. Now Paul didn’t open that up right then and there, but now he’s doing so. If they were scratching their heads when they began reading this letter in the second chapter and they’re wondering, what does that mean? Walk in a manner worthy of God.
Now he’s telling them at the end. It was a headline. But in Pauline fashion, he doesn’t actually address it and open it up until later on in the letter. And that’s what he’s doing here. That’s what he seems to be doing. It was a headline, and now he’s unfolding it.
We ask you, brothers, walk this way. What is it to walk? In a sense, it’s a code for how you conduct your life, a habit of conduct that comes from a Greek dictionary describing this word walk, to conduct your life, comport yourself, behave. live as a habit of conduct. That’s what Paul is getting at. And it’s always, as this dictionary tells us, always more exactly defined.
Walk this way. Walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice, Proverbs 8. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not quarreling and jealousy, Romans 13. Here, we have the positive call to walk this way that is worthy of God.
Well, what does that mean? What does it mean to be worthy of God? What kind of man are worthy of God? Well, these three, Paul, Silas, and Timothy were among those in Thessalonica, they were walking as an example of what it was to be worthy of God. But what does that mean? What does it look like?
Webster’s defines worthy as having worth or excellence, possessing worth or excellence of qualities, virtuous. But it can’t be that a Christian is to earn the favor of God such that he becomes deserving. That’s not what Paul’s saying here. Like earning or being worthy of a reward or an honor, such as a high school diploma. That’s not what Paul’s saying. To walk in a manner worthy of God is not that.
Indeed, in Job, We read, if you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him? If you’re righteous, what do you give to him? No, Paul’s not calling these young Christians to earn God’s favor. That’s not what it means by being worthy of God. Did you notice that there in verse 12 of the second chapter in this letter, to walk in a manner worthy of God who, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
The Lord is opening up his dwelling place to you. If you’re trusting in Christ this morning, he’s opening up his house. And it’s not an entrance you can earn. It’s too costly. So the idea must be to walk in such a way to become prepared to enter into that eternal relationship, that eternal dwelling place of the living God. Or as Paul wrote to those at Philippi, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
See, it’s God who’s making you ready. to enter into his house. So he’s calling you. He’s calling you into that house. That’s what it is to be worthy of God, to hold fast the word of life, to be worthy of the calling to which you’ve been called. You’ve been called out of darkness. You’ve been called into the light. You’ve been called into the righteousness of Christ. You’ve been called out of death, out of idleness, out of drunkenness. You’ve been called into life.
And that’s what Paul’s getting at. Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. Fully pleasing to him. Bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. That’s what he wrote to those at Colossae. That’s the idea. to walk in a manner which is pleasing to him, bearing fruit, increasing in the knowledge of God, that’s what the task is, that’s what the work is, so to speak. Again, not that you earn favor with God, but that by and through bearing fruit, you are preparing yourself in such a way as the spirit works to enter into his dwelling place.
What is that, bearing fruit? Generally, we think that we bear fruit as we serve others. That our good works are that fruit. That as we admonish the idle, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, that’s the fruit. What we’re doing to others, those good works. But if you think about fruit from a tree, it’s quite different. It actually comes from the tree or from the bush. It’s produced, so to speak, within the tree. We see it externally, but it comes from within that plant, whether it’s a tree or a bush.
So consider what it is that God truly desires. Why did he send Christ? Why was he sent? Consider what he told that Samaritan woman at the well. The father is seeking such people to worship him, true worshipers, who will worship him in spirit and truth. That’s what the father’s seeking. That’s what the son was sent for. Our living God sent his son to do this, to make those people who would worship him in spirit and in truth. He’s seeking those people. He’s gathering disciples who would do that just as Jesus has commanded. That’s good fruit. And that fruit is being worthy of God.
You see, as you consider your fruit to be your good works, you have absolutely no control over what your fruit, so to speak, your good works do to others. You can’t know what kind of fruit is being produced in others as you do your good works, can you? But what about the fruit that’s produced within your own heart as you serve the living God? Isn’t that the kind of fruit the Lord Jesus was sent to nurture? Each and every time you perform some good work, you admonish the idle, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Each and every time you do that, do these things, are you not being made more like Jesus Christ?
Yes, that’s the fruit that is walking in a manner worthy of your calling. Walking in a manner that’s worthy of God. And did you notice the parallel between that good fruit and increasing in the knowledge of God? There are differences, yes. But they go together. As you bear fruit, as the Spirit is working within you, producing this fruit within your heart, you’re also increasing in your knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. That, that is what the Lord desires. And that’s being worthy of God. So are you. Are you walking that way? Are you bearing that kind of fruit? Are you increasing in the knowledge of God in that fashion?
The Spirit abides in you. He’s working on your heart as you go out and do the good works that you’re called to in this passage. And so, Yes, think of others. But as you’re performing these good works, ponder what it is that the Spirit is doing within your heart.
For that’s the fruit that he so desires, and that is the fruit that defines being worthy of God. Brings us to our second point. and that is walk in a way that looks up. To be worthy of God, if we can use that phrase, and it’s a biblical phrase, it must include a walk that loves your neighbor. That’s the second great commandment, isn’t it?
And indeed, it would appear that each of these things that Paul is setting forth before the Thessalonians would be to look outside of themselves and look to their neighbors. He’s calling these young Christians to look toward the needs of others, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all, do good to one another, to everyone.
In other words, Paul was calling them to be worthy of himself by looking away from themselves. The only question is, how are they supposed to do that? For just like us, they were corrupt in Adam, and in their corruption in Adam, their hearts had only eyes for themselves, just like us. So how then were they to walk or live in a way such that is worthy of the Lord in regard to the way that they were to interact with others?
In his letter to those at Colossae, Paul that they are to keep their heart and mind and thoughts upon the things above. You’ve been raised with Christ. Seek the things that are above where Christ is. Set your mind on the things that are above. As he writes to those at Philippi, he reminds them that their citizenship is in heaven. If you’re a citizen of heaven, then where are your thoughts, your heart, and mind to be. And so these all go together, don’t they? It’s a broad precept, a broad concept, but they’re all similar.
And they express the concept that the followers of Jesus Christ are to take their eyes off of themselves and place them very generally on spiritual things, upon the things above, upon the things of God, the things of heaven. But even more particularly, they’re to set their heart and minds upon Jesus Christ. the one who’s king in heaven. And so we have this overarching, this umbrella principle that Paul is opening up here in this first letter to those at Thessalonica. All of these particular ways that he is urging them, that he’s asking them to walk could be summed up by saying, get your eyes off of yourself and put them on another.
It’s the opposite of looking inward. Think of Peter, as he just confessed the identity of Jesus Christ correctly. We were wondering when that was going to happen, and it finally does. And then Jesus explains to Peter why he’s sent, how he has to suffer, how he has to be killed, and rise again. Peter says, no. No. Jesus’ response is quite blunt. Get behind me, Satan, for you’re not setting your mind on the things of God. At first blush, it would appear that Peter was, in fact, looking outward. He was looking out for the best interest of Jesus. No, you’re not going to suffer. You’re not going to be killed.
But as Jesus knew Peter’s heart, he said, you’re a hindrance to me. How is it that Peter could be a hindrance when he was seeking to look out for Jesus’s best interest? And the fact was that Peter was concerned about Peter. Peter is looking forward to his own glory as a follower of Jesus, who is about to ascend to the throne and conquer the Romans. At least that’s what Peter thought. And he was going to be with him. But that’s not why Jesus came. And Peter was only looking inwardly. He was looking out for his own best interest.
And he said, no, Jesus, you can’t be killed. What’s going to happen to me? That’s not looking up. That’s not setting your mind upon the things of God. So how are these young believers to look so far outside of themselves that they could say, let’s pursue peace? Only by denying themselves.
Only by looking not only to their own interests, but also to the interests of others and having the mind in themselves, which is the mind of Christ. It’s only by looking up to Christ that you’ll have the ability to look away from yourself, to rightly respect and esteem your pastors, your preachers, your teachers, to be at peace, to help the weak, to encourage the faint-hearted, to be patient. It’s only, as Paul wrote, to those in Rome to love one another with a brotherly affection, outdo one another in showing honor.
And it was only possible because these young Christians at Thessalonica knew that the Lord himself would descend from heaven with the cry of a command, with the voice of an archangel, with the sound of the trumpet of God, so that we will always be with him. They knew that. So now they could look up. Are you? Are you looking up this morning to Christ and away from yourself?
Wasn’t that the problem of the Israelites as they journeyed from Elim to the wilderness of sin? They stopped looking up. to the living God who delivered them from the oppression of the Egyptians. They stopped remembering the deliverance that they were currently enjoying. They returned to looking inward, to looking solely to their perceived needs and to their immediate desires, and they stopped looking up, and there was no longer peace within their hearts, only a lack of respect and esteem for Moses and a grumbling that would become persistent.
See, the writer to the Hebrews knew our Constitution in Adam, he called looking to Jesus, lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us. And he didn’t write this, but that sin includes self-love or self-centeredness, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus.
See, that’s the only way to walk worthy, worthy of God is by looking up and fixing your eyes upon Christ. And as you do, his spirit will enable you to admonish the idle, to encourage the faint-hearted, to help the weak, to be patient with them all. Have you ever thought what kind of a church we would be? if we were all looking up at Christ. That brings us to our third point, to walk in a way that follows Jesus.
All of these commands, their asks, their requests, but in a sense they’re really commands that Paul sets forth, they’re all describing the nature of Christ, aren’t they? If Paul is giving these to Christians, to believers, to followers of Jesus, and calling them to walk this way, then they must be a description of the way that Jesus Christ walked. They must be a description of his nature, of his character. So Paul’s calling them.
These immature young believers to rejoice always, to give thanks in all circumstances. And we must remember that these Christians were being persecuted, that they were being afflicted by those around them, likely by the Jews that had moved Paul and Silas and Timothy out after three Lord’s days, likely the same Jews persecuting, afflicting these members of the church. And yet Paul calls them to rejoice and give thanks in all circumstances, you might think that they would have responded, what do you mean?
We can’t do that, not in these circumstances, not during this persecution, not during this kind of oppression. So Paul was calling them to follow Jesus, wasn’t he? He was calling them to imitate the one who did rejoice and give thanks in all circumstances. even in the midst of persecution and oppression and hardship and affliction.
Don’t we see that in Christ? You might be asking yourself, where’s that in scripture? Where can I see Christ rejoicing, giving thanks in all circumstances? Well, You might turn to the Garden of Gethsemane. You might turn to that passage where Jesus told his disciples before he entered into prayer with his father, my soul is very sorrowful, even to death.
And if you’re familiar with that passage, you know the prayer that he prays three times. And I don’t know that we have all of it, but we have some of it. My father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. Where was the rejoicing? Where’s the thankful heart of Jesus?
And I think you can ask these questions because you need to know your Savior. You need to know your Lord. And you need to know that this is indeed a description of him, and that in fact, he was one who rejoiced always. He was praying without ceasing, and he was giving thanks even in this circumstance. You say, where is that?
I actually have to turn to Hebrews chapter 12, a passage that I read a short time ago, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfect of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.” You see, rejoicing doesn’t necessarily mean having a smile on your face. But Jesus was rejoicing. even as he’s asking his father to take the cup away from him, as he was considering the pain of the cross, as he was considering the spiritual pain of separation from his father, the spiritual agony that he would be immersed in, in the sins of the world, in your sins. The shame of the cross, the anticipation of the physical pain as the eternal wrath of God was laid upon him, And yet there was joy because he was looking through the cross and knowing what his work on the cross would do to and for you.
And so even there he was rejoicing. Even there he was joyful. And even there he must have been giving thanks to his father for he knew that by and through his shed blood and by and through the power of the resurrection that you would be raised to see his glory.
Is your walk worthy of Jesus? The only way it can be is if you’re trusting in him this morning. Yes, follow him. Yes, and as you follow him, you’ll be seeking to do these things, but the only way your walk can be worthy of Jesus is if you’re trusting in him this morning to your salvation. Are you? If you’re here this morning and you’re shaking your head and you’re saying, no, he still calls you. He calls you to come and eat, drink from him, to be cleansed by him, to have your sins washed away in his precious blood. It’s the only way. that you can be worthy of Jesus is to trust in him.
Yes, the spirit of Christ causes the followers of Jesus to keep their hearts looking above such that they will walk worthily of the living God. As Israelites stopped looking up and they entered into grumbling and complaining, Oh, friends, look up to Christ. Set your heart and mind upon the things above, upon Christ. And you will be worthy of God. Amen. Father in heaven, oh, what a joy it is to think upon Christ. Set our hearts and minds upon him to Continue looking above, oh Lord, help us get our eyes off ourselves and put them on Christ. We ask this in his precious name, amen.