"He Will Surely Do It"

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 ¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray without ceasing, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

            Do we rejoice always?  We sin almost always and one of our sins is that we do not exactly rejoice over all that God has given us or entrusted to us. We are much like Moses who didn't feel he was equipped to be entrusted to lead God's people out of captivity, (Exodus 4:10).  Or we are like Jonah who didn't want or care if the people of Nineveh were saved or not knowing God's true grace and mercy.

Jonah 4:1-4 4 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. ² And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. ³ Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” ⁴ And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

            Angry, because we can't always have it our way?  Angry because it might mean participation on our part?  Angry enough to go and try to hide from God?  We cannot be sure what was going through Jonah's mind, he knew God and surely had to know you can't hide from God.  Adam and Eve might not have known right away that they could not hide from God, but Jonah knew the history of Adam and Eve and saw through God's word that they could not hide. 

God calls us to serve whether we are young or old, (Moses was in his 80's) to be the body of Christ.  Do we rejoice in that, or do we look at it as we're not equipped, we don't want to be equipped, and we'd rather rejoice about doing nothing for the salvation of others.  God will forgive us, and He will get over it in time, or is this a non repented sin?

God gives us the knowledge and the tools as He did for Abraham, Moses, Joseph, David, and all others He has called into service.  One of God's tools is His word, but it does us no good if we despise it, ignore it, don't really know it, or push it away.  We might think God's word is not important, and then wonder why we struggle so in our lives and in the life our part of the Body of Christ.

Do you pray without ceasing?  It is good to be in God's word, it gives us those things from God that we can rejoice in, and know God's love and how it works for us.  Through God's word we can learn to pray for the will of God, to effect what we really want.  It is not more money, a bigger house, a faster cooler car, or anything that is stuff that we really are looking for.  We are not even looking for world peace, no crime, or pay without work. No, what we are really looking for we try to achieve through the means of stuff and situations.  We think we have what we want until we see the stuff wears out, the situation changes, a disaster happens, or we lose what we thought was important to have.  One doesn't appreciate what one has until one loses it, but if one does not realize they don't have what one is truly looking for they keep looking.

What is it that we are really looking for?  We are really seeking joy, a continuous happiness that can't be achieved through stuff and situations.  Joy can be achieved through the one thing that we turn from, push away, ignore, or think we do not need, and I'm not going to tell you what it is because you won't believe me even if I do tell you.  I'm sure you probably think you know what I will say any way.  Joy comes from a relationship to the one who created relationships, and His Word.  Ok I told you but I really didn't mean to.

I guess this is my way of being like Jonah He didn't think the people of Nineveh deserved God's grace and mercy.  Truthfully none deserve God's grace but through His love we receive it.  Or, maybe this is my time to be like Moses and say I'm not eloquent enough to know the right words to say to those held in their own captivity of sin.  Actually this might be our time to take God's word seriously and start to pray without ceasing.  AHA! Let's make our life a prayer.  Let’s pray that God teaches us to grow.  There was a pastor who prayed all day long, and at night before he went to bed he knelt by his bedside said amen and then crawled into bed.

I guess if you do not rejoice in everything there might not be very much to thank God for.  Certainly we can agree that we should thank God for all of the good things we receive from Him.  However, do we understand that even in our difficult situations we have much to thank God for?  Our tough situations force us to grow, and learn how to overcome them through the help of God. And, tough situations teach us to come to God our Father in heaven and depend on His love for us, which gets us through those tough situations.  AHA! This is His will for us, that we rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in every circumstance.

1 Thessalonians 5:19–22 ¹⁹Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰Do not despise prophecies, ²¹but test everything; hold fast what is good. ²²Abstain from every form of evil.

            Have we snuffed out the spirit in us?  Do we despise the word of God?  God's word does not paint a pretty picture for the non believer.  This might find us despising God's word.  God's word does not approve of every life style, or those who try to demean God's word to justify their desires.  This too might find us despising God's word.  It takes time and effort to read God's word, and this too might find us despising God's word.  Our world despises God's word and thinks sin is a recreational drug that changes the way we deal with reality, gives us fun, and justifies our turning our back on God.  Sin is the new correct, bad is the new good, and sick is the new cool.  Opposites are the new equivalents, and lies are the new truths.  But the real truth that never changes is Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 ²³Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

            Sanctification is that we are made Holy through the works of the Holy Spirit.  Our works are the works that are sanctified by God through His Holy Spirit when we are listening to the Holy Spirit through God's word.  Test everything means to test how each and everything we do conforms to the word of God.  But here it is, we are sanctified to be Holy in the eyes of our Father in heaven.

            AHA! God gives us gifts to be excited about.  We are justified through the works of Christ, because we are forgiven for our sins.  Christ took our sins and died a brutal death to pay the penalty for all sin.  Christ died to show our Father in heaven we are worthy to be called the children of God.  We are worthy through the Lamb of God, Christ Jesus.  Christ also died and ascended into heaven so that the counselor would come.  The Counselor is the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us and makes us Holy in the eyes of God.  And now that we are clothed in our justification and sanctification we are made worthy to have an eternal relationship and everlasting life with our Lord and Savior.

            1 Thessalonians 5:24 ²⁴He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

Whatever we ask in His name, in His will, in His love, our God will give it to us.  Do you think that keeping the doors of this church open is in the will of God?  Do you think if we pray that God will equip us to be able to go out and evangelize to our communities around us He will equip us?  Do you think that if through our prayers we thank God for all we have in every circumstance He will joyfully accept that thank you and give us more? Do you think that God saves us for His joy?  Do you think Jesus Christ will come again?  And, do you think that God's love for all is real? If you said yes to all of these questions then you know, He will surely do it. For this is how God builds our faith through the circumstances we face.  Amen.