Sixteen Powerful Truths in Eleven Verses (# 2)

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. I hope you are as well.

Over the next few days I plan to look at eleven verses found in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22. In these verses are sixteen powerful, practical truths. I hope to expound a little on each one. This passage of Scripture has been some of my favorite since I was a young boy. Let me share it with you from the English Standard Version of the Bible:

1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, (13) and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. (14) And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. (15) See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. (16) Rejoice always, (17) pray without ceasing, (18) give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (19) Do not quench the Spirit. (20) Do not despise prophecies, (21) but test everything; hold fast what is good. (22) Abstain from every form of evil.

We looked at two of the truths yesterday. They were:

#1 Respect & Esteem (highly in love) those in leadership
#2 Be at peace

Today, let's look at three others:

#3 Admonish the undisciplined/idle

Don't loaf around with the lazy; warn them. Don't yell at the timid and weak; encourage and help them. At times it can be difficult to distinguish between idleness and timidity. Two people may be doing nothing—one out of laziness and the other out of shyness or fear of doing something wrong. The key to ministry is sensitivity: sensing the condition of each person and offering the appropriate remedy for each situation. You can't effectively help until you know the problem. You can't apply the medicine until you know where the wound is.

#4 Encourage the fainthearted

It is so important that we learn to be encouragers. That is part of our ministry as Christians! There are so many ways to encourage. In the Apostle Paul's writings, he models six important principles to help us encourage others:

(A) Begin with encouragement. People who know we will encourage them will be happy to work with us.

(B) Expect of others only what you expect of yourself. People will resist being held to unfair standards.

(C) Develop expectations of others with consideration for their skills, maturity, and experience. People will reject or fail to meet expectations that do not fit them. Be patient with distracted or slow learners.

(D) Monitor your expectations of others. Changing circumstances sometimes require revised or reduced expectations.

(E) Clarify your expectations with others. People are not likely to hit a target that no one has identified.

(F) End with encouragement. People love to be thanked for a job well done.

#5 Help the weak

The actual Greek meaning for this phrase is: We are to shore up, prop up them that are weak; strengthen those wings and companies that are likely to be most exposed, that they be not overpowered and broken in the day of battle.

Presumably, the reference is to moral and spiritual weakness. There always seems to be a more prominent place in the church for the strong than for the weak. Yet the church is to be the place where the weak can be upheld. How tragic when churches become groups that are quick to judge and condemn the weak. I wish we could have a sign over our church door, "The weak are welcome here!"

The word to "uphold" the weak paints a beautiful picture. It comes from a word meaning "to hold before or against." It is the picture of a person keeping oneself face to face with someone, holding on to them. Instead of rejecting or belittling the weak, the Christian fellowship should be the place where a "buddy system" can be developed for them. When someone is first learning to swim at a summer camp, they are assigned a "buddy" who is a strong swimmer. The beginner is not allowed to swim out in the lake without his "buddy." What a source of joy it is for many the following summer to be a "buddy" to a beginning swimmer. Could not our small groups and church fellowship operate on the "buddy system"? Some folks have a hard time staying afloat on the treacherous waters of life. With a "buddy," they just might make it!

We will continue this study tomorrow! Blessings.

Pastor Rusty