1 Thessalonians chapter five and verse 11. Wherefore comfort yourselves together and edify one another even as also ye do. And we beseech you brethren to know them which labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake and be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly. Comfort the feeble-minded. Support the weak. Be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man, but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves and all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the spirit. Despise not prophesying. Prove all things. Hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. and the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. And I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless under the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, amen. You may be seated. We're looking at this particular chapter and how, Ben, in the last year we spent quite a bit of time in the first epistle to the church at Thessalonica. In verse number 11 starts the second section of this chapter in 1 Thessalonians chapter number 5. The opening section of this chapter, Paul is giving them a reminder of things to come. He tells them that he's already spoken to them and already taught them about these particular things. In the second section of this chapter, He gives our responsibility of things to do in light of the Lord's return. I was talking with a friend about this particular passage and he said that as a boy, his mom had someone to care for them at times as children and she would have to go to town. And sometimes she'd gather them all around and she'd say, now I'm giving you my last minute instructions before I go to town. Our Lord is giving us some last minute instructions to remind us of his return. And I'm thankful that he's coming back just like the Bible said. So Paul seems to be answering the question, What shall I do in light of the Lord's return? He mentions that return in verse number 23. In a prayer for them. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. And I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless under the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so I'm preaching this morning on what shall I do? Let's pray. As we bow our heads and hearts, thank you for letting us come to the house of God. Thank you, Lord, for the promise, Lord, that you sent us early this morning, that you would send us help from the sanctuary. And, Lord, there's no doubt you helped my heart in the early time of prayer. I thank you, God, for the way you worked in my soul as I came to the throne of your rich grace and mercy. I thank you, God, for the way you helped us in Sunday school, reminding us, God, that the law is not necessary for us as Christians, that it was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. I ask you, Father, now to take the Word of God, make it plain and clear, Lord, challenge us in light of your return. Help us, God, to live in such a way that we'll not be ashamed before you at your coming. I pray that you'd make these commands and these challenges from the scripture very clear. Help us to respond to them and, God, to live in such a way that if you should return before we finish this service or before we finish this day of worship, I pray that our lives will be set in order and that we'll be ready to meet the one who died and rose again for us. We'll thank you for it in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. As you look at this particular section that we just read, Paul has addressed already future events and our response as believers, how we should behave in light of the Lord's return. And so there are 22 commands from verses number 11 all the way through the end of the chapter. These commands are important commands because they are to be lived in light of Christ's return for his bride. I wonder how we would behave if Jesus was sitting on the front pew this morning. I wonder how we would behave if he was waiting in the car for us when we came out. I wonder how we would behave if he rode with us home Would he enjoy our conversation? I wonder if he were here this morning at the altar, if we'd come to meet him in holy prayer. And so every believer should give heed to these practical commands. When I look at these, these are Tremendous commands that urge us to be diligent in light of the Lord's return. These commands are to be practiced in light of what verse 4 said. The Bible said, ye brethren are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. That is, that day is coming. And the songwriter said, some golden daybreak, Jesus will come. Some golden daybreak, battles all won. He'll shout the victory, break through the blue. Some golden daybreak for me and for you. And so when I look at this section from verse 11 through verse number 28, I've organized it into 10 different divisions. to simplify our understanding. I like to put things in order. I like things, when I look in the scripture and I study it, I see that God has put a certain order into His book. He's put a certain organization into His book. When we looked at it on Wednesday night and studied together about standing on the Word of God, we found out that God put a certain order in Psalm 119. And He's put a certain order in this text here this morning. These also aid our personal application. These are not just commands for us to review. Their commands were responsible to obey. These are our marching orders for God. These are the things that Christ wants us to do. Our last minute instructions before Paul closes out this particular epistle, these commands are very personal commands. In fact, these commands apply to every believer. There's not one you can mark through and say this morning, Lord, I don't have to obey that one. That one's for Brother Mark. Lord, I don't have to obey this one. This one is for Brother Gene. Lord, I don't have to obey that one there. That one there is for Brother Gil. Lord, show me which one you want me to obey. No, all of these should be obeyed by every believer. Christian responsibility is the same from the pulpit all the way to the last pew. These are God's requirements. These are God's commands. These are those that God wants you and I to obey in our Christian life. So these are not only personal commands, but they are powerful commands. These powerful commands are commands that you and I have been given, prompted by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit allowed Paul to pin these commands down. And these are so important that they are prompted by the Spirit and placed in the Scriptures. I think about how powerful verse 19 is, that the Holy Spirit prompted us here in this text so that you and I will not quench the Holy Spirit. And then in verse 25, the Holy Spirit prompted Paul so that he could put down this divine prayer request. Brethren, pray for us. All the commands have been placed there by the Holy Ghost of God. So there's not one that's more important than the other. All these are equally important. It's like saying, well, thou shalt not commit adultery is not as important as thou shalt not lie. Well, they're all important. All the commands of God are pertinent, and these especially in light of the Lord's return. And so we're to live expectantly in light of Christ's return. And when we think about this particular chapter, we know that Paul has given them to us so we can live in light of Christ's return. Do you know that Christ could come at any moment? There's not one prophecy to be fulfilled. There's not one sign that has to be manifested for the rapture to take place. In fact, all we're waiting on is the shout from above, the voice of the archangel and the trump of God. Thank God the Savior's gonna shout from the realms above. The trumpet's going to sound to denote the battle of the ages. It's about to be culminated. And you and I that are born of God, hallelujah, are going to leave this world faster than the speed of light. Glory to God, and we're going to rise. in that celestial city, in the presence of God. And so when I look at this chapter in the second section we're studying this morning, there are 10 divisions of this second section of this chapter. First of all, in verses 11 and verse 14, I believe that the apostle Paul is telling us in answer to the question, What shall I do? I believe that he's telling us that we should be useful, that we should be useful for Christ. And then in verse number 12 and 13, I believe he's telling us that we should be thoughtful. And then in verse number 15, I believe he's telling us that we should be merciful. That we should be merciful. The Bible tells us here in verse number 16 that you and I should be joyful. Amen. The Bible said rejoice evermore. And yet you can't rejoice evermore if you don't rejoice anymore. Rejoice evermore. And the Bible tells us not only should we be joyful, but the Bible said that we should be prayerful in verse number 17. We should be prayerful. The Bible said pray without ceasing. And then the scripture said in verse 18 that we should be thankful. The Bible said in everything, give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. And then the Bible teaches us that we should be powerful in verse number 19. It says, quench not the spirit. You cannot be a powerful Christian if you continually quench the Holy Ghost of God. And then the Bible said in verse 20 through verse 22 that you and I should be careful as Christians. And then in verse number 23 through verse number 24, the ninth one is, be hopeful, that you and I should be hopeful. And then in verse 25 through the end of the chapter, that you and I should be faithful. And so God has an absolute perfect set of commands here for you and I. personally, powerfully, and pertinently, so you and I can personally obey what the Bible said. The Bible said, first of all, what should I do in light of the Lord's return? I would say that you should be a useful Christian. Amen. In fact, the Bible teaches us that in verse 11 and verse 14. These verses have to do specifically with personal commands among each other. Verses number 12 and 13 are another section to themselves. Verse number 11, there's two commands in verse number 11. Paul commanded them to practice these things. He tells them to comfort yourselves together and to edify one another. And then in verse 14, there are four commands. He said, now we exhort you, brethren. Number one, warn them that are unruly. Number two, comfort the feeble-minded. Number three, support the weak. Number four, be patient toward all men. And so as God is helping us, let us venture out and talk about how you and I can be useful in the work of Christ. I don't know about you, but I never have, as a Christian, wanted to sit always on the sidelines. No, I wanted to be useful in the cause of Christ. And Paul said, comfort yourselves together. And that is a very definite command. In fact, the word comfort is found five times in the two epistles to this church at Thessalonica. And it's found here in this chapter. It means to support, to give consolation under calamity, distress, or danger. And so it's necessary for every one of us at times to give the very blessing of comfort to someone else's life. And you and I know that at times each of us need the comfort of the brethren. The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 3, verse 2, that Timothy came to these new converts and comforted them in light of the soon persecution right after they were immediately saved. That is, right after these converts were saved, Timothy came to comfort them and came alongside of them. The Bible said in the fourth chapter that they were to comfort one another in light of their departed loved ones. Because one day there would be a rapture and there would be a reunion. and that you and I are to comfort one another with these words. Amen and amen. And so they were to comfort each other also in this chapter in light of the fact that the promises that the church would not go through the season of wrath called the tribulation period. That is the context of the verse that we're addressing directly, that they would not go through the tribulation period. and that they would live together with Christ. Oh, I'm so glad God saved me from hell. And not only that, I'm glad God saved me from the tribulation period. And thank God he's given me the comfort of knowing that he's coming back to get me, to take me to the place he called the Father's house. Hallelujah. I'm glad, glory to God, on these days he's coming. We're not going through the horrors of the tribulation period, but thanks be unto God. Hallelujah. You and I are going on home to heaven. Amen. Now, the Bible teaches us that the ministry of comfort is a ministry of the Spirit of God in the believer's life. Look in 2 Corinthians chapter number 1. You say, Preacher, I don't understand why I have to keep going through all these things in my life. Let's read about it in the Bible. 2 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse number 3. The Bible said, Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercy's hand, the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them. which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. You know what God said is that the ministry of comfort is invested in the believer's life through trials. You know why God lets your heart get broken? It's so you can help comfort somebody else's broken heart. You know why God lets you go through that dark valley and that deep trial? It could be that someday you'd put your arm around somebody and say, I know there's a lot of people that may not understand, but I walked this road ahead of you. And I know what the Holy Ghost has done in my heart. And I know what comfort God has poured into my life. Oh, bless his dear name. And that comfort is ministered from our heart to another. in that time of trial and heartache in their own life. But I will say that the second command is that we edify one another. The word edify means to instruct. It means to improve the mind in knowledge. And generally, it means to improve the mind, particularly in moral and religious knowledge, in faith and holiness, In general, it means to build up someone. It involves the promotion of Christian growth in the life. It means you're trying to help somebody grow. And the Bible said in Romans chapter 14, it said, let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. That is, you and I are to try to help each other along the way. were to try to edify one another. The Bible said the pastor is gifted in his gifts in the Word of God are for the edification of the body of Christ. And yet the Bible teaches us, 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 11, that it is our responsibility to edify one another. And so you and I as Christians are to live such a life that we can encourage each other along life's way. How in the world can you help someone when you're failing in the Christian life in such a very simple and horrible way? That's why you and I ought to live such a life that our life brings honor and glory to Christ. And then in verse number 14, the Scripture said, Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded. support the weak and be patient toward all men. The Bible said in verse 14, he said, we exhort you brethren, warn them that are unruly. Now there comes a time, sometimes when people that are becoming unruly or disobedient need to be warned. And the Bible teaches us this word, warn, means to caution against evil practice. The Bible said in this chapter as well, in verse 22, that believers are to abstain from all appearance of evil. It addresses every aspect of disobedience in the Christian life. It addresses your testimony as a Christian. It addresses your Christian responsibility. Another word is used in 2 Thessalonians. Paul deals with those who are disorderly. This word unruly means one who disregards restraint. It speaks of one who is disposed to violate laws. One who is ungovernable. In other words, one that will not follow in the pathway that God said they should follow. And so when a person becomes unruly, they begin to disregard the rules of the Bible and the principles of the Bible. You know, I don't understand why people can just go on and act like when a person is not faithful to the house of God. When they don't tithe, when they don't do the things they ought to do. How in the world do you think we should have respect for someone that is disobeying God? The Bible doesn't say you and I are to coddle them, we're to warn them. We're not, well she's a good person, he's not a bad guy, he's a disobedient person. She's a disobedient person. When one becomes unruly, they begin to disregard the rules of the Christian life. Listen, we can't say that a person's unfaithfulness doesn't matter. It does matter because you and I are commanded by God to be faithful. And Paul also addresses those in II Thessalonians, those who are disorderly, the same type of behavior. When you start to act like, listen, don't get sanctimonious when it comes to the Bible. That absolutely, besides a fire this high, that burns me up when people act like the Bible doesn't matter. What I mean by that is, listen, it really doesn't matter if it's your son, my son, his son, grandma, grandpa, mama, it doesn't matter who it is. The Bible's the same for every one of us. You and I have the same commands, the same responsibilities, and sometimes a person that is wandering from God and becoming unruly, you know what you don't do? You don't lower the standard so they don't feel bad. You keep the standard where it belongs and say, if you wanna live right, Come on up where God said that you ought to be. Amen and amen. I like what Albert Barnes said about this very verse and this very command in the scripture. He said, one reason why there's so little piety in the church and why so many professors of religion go astray is that the great mass of church members feel no responsibility on this subject. They suppose that is the duty of the officers of the church to admonish an erring brother and hence many become careless and cold and worldly and no one utters a kind word to them to recall them to a holy walk with God. Can I tell you that this is a command that applies to every church member when it says, warn them that are unruly. You know what I said to someone the other day? I said, you know what? You're getting in the habit now where you only come to church one time a week. You say, Preacher, you said it? I sure did. I'm trying to warn somebody who's unruly. If they go on missing and act like nothing's wrong, then they'll think it's acceptable, and it's not. And I know that I have to be that person a lot of times, but be that as it may, I'm not ashamed to say this is what the God of heaven said in his book. This is the path of God. Walk in it. I'm warning you, you're going too far. Amen. An old statement by liberal preachers of the days gone by, here's what they'd say. You know, when you get real specific, people don't like it. They don't mind you preaching in generalities, but when you get specific, they don't like it. So the liberal preachers would say, oh, don't throw a rock, you might hit one of the sheep. The little old sheep, you might hit one of the sheep. You know, that's exactly what the shepherds would do. The shepherds of Israel would reach down in his crib, he'd pull out a stone, and he was such a sharpshooter with that, he would throw a rock, it would land just on the other side of the sheep, as if to say to that sheep, you know what? You're going too far. You're out of line. You're headed in a direction that's going to be dangerous. If you keep making these bad choices about simple commands in the Bible, then you're going to veer off the path. And Satan's going to make you a target in his plan. That's why you and I that are saved ought to warn them that are unruly. And then also the Bible tells us here, it says, comfort the feeble mind. And I'm thankful for this command and the way the Lord has unfolded it to me. The practice of comfort is continued in this verse and it is commanded. It is directed toward those of us that should be comforted if we are feeble-minded and others who should help us if we are in that state in our life. Now, that word feeble-minded, I know some of you have already said, yeah, I know who he's talking about. It's probably nothing to do with what you're thinking about. And I know that everybody here is not on the same level in that realm, but that's not what this verse is talking about. The word feeble-minded speaks of those who are weak in mind. They're wanting in firmness or constancy or irresolute. They're undecided. The term refers to weakness of will and vacillation of purpose rather than to someone who is maybe mentally I'm not talking about that at all. This command has nothing to do with a person whose IQ is lower than everyone else's. It does not mean those who are uneducated or undereducated. It has nothing to do with that. It has nothing to do with a person's aptitude. I've seen people that were very intelligent mentally, but were spiritually foolish in every way. I've known people all through the years, honestly, they had far more intelligence than a lot of the others I know. But sometimes those who, maybe with less of that, have just the heart for God, to obey God, and to do what God says. And so this command has nothing to do with aptitude. It speaks of a person who is wanting in firmness or constancy. They're weak in mind. They're fainthearted. They're dispirited. They can't seem to make the decisions they need to make. And they need someone to come alongside of them and try to put courage in them. They need to be undergirded. They need to be exhorted. They need to be reminded. And I remind you this morning, this is the responsibility of every single believer. In fact, there are times when a person begins to drift. And sometimes people look around and say, well, the preacher's really being mean to them. Well, a lot of times you have not seen the pattern of life this person begins to manifest. And a lot of people are just, they're just willing, you know, well, just thank the Lord they made it to one service and shake their hand and out the door they go. But what's happened is they've been in a pattern of neglect and drifting and they've been in a state where Satan has been lining them up so that he can take advantage of their life. What should happen is that those that are here in the congregation that walk with God ought to step up and say, you know what? Sister, we've been missing you. Brother, where were you on Wednesday night? Brother, why did you not make it back for revival? Amen. You know what's happened? We've left it all to the man of God. So when he does exercise the pulpit to warn and to admonish and to reprove and to rebuke, then we rear back like a Super Bowl quarterback and say, well, I wouldn't have done it that way. Well, the truth of the matter is you wouldn't have done it at all. Because they've been drifting some have been drifting a long time some have been drifting so long they Continually disobey God and we act like oh, it's not all that bad Well, I'll tell you what's happening The Bible said therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard lest at any time We should let them slip When a person starts to slip, their slipping in public is only an indication they've been sliding for a long time in private. You with me now? See, what you're seeing are just symptoms outwardly that have been happening secretly and privately for some time now. See, long before you start to experience the symptoms of some sickness in your life, that bacteria or that virus has been working on the inside of you. And you and I cannot say that we're spiritually healthy as long as we're neglecting the truths of the Bible. What is so sad is that so many times what happens is all of these commands are left to the pastor alone. And sometimes people have literally walked away from God entirely. And sometimes I'll start to try to encourage people. to get moving. And sometimes somebody will come to the prayer room and they'll say, you know, I've been missing so and so. And what they don't realize is early in the morning for weeks, I've been seeking God on their behalf. I've been reaching out to them and saying, I've been saying, you know what? I've been missing you in church. I missed you at the house of God and send a sermon. And sometimes they won't even respond at all. Sometimes that person who is one time was faithful to church and came to the house of God. They were the one saying amen. They were the one lifting up their hands. Sometimes that person has drifted off because of spiritual weakness and because of the fact they have not obeyed God and they've allowed their life to lose ground. And now Satan's began to take advantage of them left and right. And we sit back and say, well, I wonder what happened to them. You know what happened to them? You watched them week after week. These are Christian responsibilities. It's not all the preacher's responsibility. This is your responsibility. We watched them week after week, and even though the pastor said, I was just there Saturday, nobody else made a phone call. Or they didn't go by. You know how long it takes to do that? Not very long at all. But what happens is they drift off the scene. And a lot of us have ignored what God has said for us to do in light of Christ's return. Support the weak, verse 14. The word support means to bear and sustain, to uphold. And the weak need support. And every Christian here this morning is not as strong as some of you are. In fact, there's some weak Christians here this morning. and you need some support. But we need to determine who the weak are and how we can support them. These people are spiritually weak. They need some support. Paul states, we are to do so but not to doubtful disputations, Romans 14.1. And the Bible said we're to bear their infirmities. Now think about it ladies, what would it be like if a mother had a small child and she had three of them and the weakest one, she just laid it on the pew and she just dealt with two children and she left the one with no attention, no instruction. No food, no clothing, no encouragement. I don't want to tell you that would be a tragedy. But some are weak in questionable things. They don't understand about what to do in certain situations, and sometimes they've stepped off into something they shouldn't be involved in. Some are weak in conviction, and they don't understand how to guide their lives spiritually. Sadly, there are a lot of people that make one or two choices that are really bad in their life. And even though they at first did not have a clue about how to go about it, they never asked for any advice or counsel from the Bible. It's really sad when you realize how many that are weak in times of great trial. Sometimes a great trial will bring about a season of weakness. And I want to tell you there's times in every believer's life I was thinking about a great Christian right now. I was thinking about this individual and they were going through a very dark, dark trial. And I was in a service one night and God used some things that happened to let me know how dark the trial really was. But you know what happens sometimes? We get stuck at the very point where we think we have to know exactly what to say. So we don't do anything. So what we do is we say, well, I didn't know what to say, so I just prayed for them. Well, I can understand that maybe at about 10%. Do you think that you have to have every answer for their situation? to slip up beside of them and say, listen, I know this has been a really tough time. And if I was to be honest with you, I would not know what to say. But there's a few things I want to tell you. One of them is, I want to tell you that I love you. And I want to tell you that if you need somebody, I want you to call me. I want you to know that I'm praying for you and I'll pray with you. I want you to know that when the devil whispers in your ear and tells you that nobody cares, that he's still a liar and he always will be, that there are people like me that are in the shadows. We don't know what to say and we don't know what to do, but we're here for you because we love you, amen. Sometimes times of great trial bring days of great weakness to the life. Even the best Christians sometimes are gonna have weak times along life's way. Sometimes they just need somebody to put a arm around them and say, listen, I don't know how to help you, but I want you to know that I'm here and I'll do anything in the world that you need for me to do. So the Bible said that you and I are to support the weak. And the last one in verse 14 is probably the most difficult for some to practice. The Bible said what? What's the last one in verse 14? Be. I notice you're having trouble saying it. Maybe I'm not the only one here. Be patient toward all men. It's a difficult thing at times, is it not? If you're a mother and you've raised children, you know sometimes they can wear out your patience. And if you're a pastor and you pastored a church, you know that sometimes people can be the same way. Sometimes patience is flung to the wind in a moment of frustration. The exercise of patience is not easy for most of us. A lot of times we go ahead and we flip the trigger or we flip the lever and we say, well, I'm just gonna let them have it. Well, you might wanna save it for a while. For others at times, it's nearly impossible to be patient sometimes, especially when people ought to know better. And maybe that works on our mind and heart more than ever. Sometimes we're frazzled to the point we look and say, what are you doing? And sometimes we might even say, are you crazy? I'm afraid I'm not the only one. I've been looking at a few of your faces here this morning. There's gonna be times when every one of us are gonna need patience at some point in our journey. And listen, we're still struggling with being patient with each other. That's really not all this verse said. Did you see what it said? It may be easier for me to be patient with Brother Bobby or Brother Sam or Brother Gene, but it's not just talking about being patient with one another, it's brothers. You know what it says? Be patient toward all men. And you know, sometimes if you're too hasty to respond, you can lose an opportunity to speak on Christ's behalf. And this exercise of patience must be worked in our heart by the Holy Spirit. There are gonna be times you're gonna have to suppress your impulse. Amen, help us here, Lord. My wife and I were in a place the other night. We went there. I took her to a place because just a special time. And I so wanted her to enjoy this time with me. And we sat down in this place to take a meal together. And there was something in particular I wanted to buy for her and have a good time, just unwinding, relaxing, and all of that. Enjoy some good food together. And we sat there at the table for 20 minutes before the waitress ever came back. And my wife, she's the voice of patience and helping me. I said, we can get up and leave if you want to. That's real patient. Isn't it? That's just the king of patience right there speaking to you. I said, there are other places to eat. We can come back another day if you want to. She said, no, she's probably new. And she took up for the dear lady. Finally, somebody come by and they said, has anybody waited on y'all? We said, no, we've been waiting this many minutes. They said, I'm sorry, I'll get somebody for you. So the manager came over. And very gracious man, by the way. Very kind, very patient. Sometimes if you don't save it, you'll lose your opportunity. And at the end, we were able to give that dear lady who was actually new, she came back and she apologized and she said, I'm sorry. She said, I want y'all to know I'm really sorry. And you know what? We were able to give her a gospel track and invite her to come to church. That dear lady up there, she's the one that guided the pathway to patience. But sometimes I miss it by not being patient. Be patient toward all men. What should I do? These commands in light of the Lord's return. If I fail on that patience, one probably will before tomorrow's over with. I'll have to go back and say, Lord, forgive me. You're still working away on this old hard shell and this old piece of granite to try to make it look something like Jesus. But I sure wouldn't want to be in a bad way right at the moment Jesus come back to take us home. Let's stand with our heads bowed this morning.