Encouraging Words for Missionary Service

But if you will, turn in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians, that's gonna be our passage for this morning. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 23, through the end of the chapter verse 28. One of the things we do at Life Field is we preach, we try to each year, unless it's a large book of the Bible, we try to preach through a, an epistle or some book of the Bible during that year. And since there's, I'm not the only preacher there in church, I, I preach some, but then Pastor Norman, he's preaching as well.

and, and then we have Ray Ferra, who was the last guy you saw in the video, he preaches once a month at the church. So there's 3 of us who preach. And so when we're gonna preach through a book of the Bible, we, we have to calendar it out. We have to, specify what are the preaching sections and what dates are we're going to be preaching on this certain section and that section, and we try not to forget the holidays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, all the different major holidays that come through the year.

And, anyway, we, we decided last year that we would preach through First Thessalonians. This year we're preaching through First Peter. And when I get back, I think we're in chapter 2, starting verse 4. All I know is I have to preach the first Sunday I'm back because I haven't been there for 10 weeks.

And, so it's my turn again. And, but anyway, we, we love doing this, and so we started this with 1 Thessalonians, and And when we got to the end of the book last year, we finished it in November. This was basically the final sermon. It it was such a joy to get to the end, because we saw the progression of what Paul had been teaching us for so many months.

the book of First Thessalonians, especially, Paul, Silas, and Timothy went to Thessalonica, because God led them there. God gave Paul the Macedonian vision, and they came over to the land of Macedonia, which is the northern part of Greece, and they first went to Philippi, and then you can read in Acts 17 where they went to Thessalonica. and Thessalonica was, was a city that would be like a small, in comparison, it would be like a metropolis of Los Angeles. 100,000, 200,000 people, which would be large for that day, small for today, but in that day, it was, it was a thriving metropolis.

There would be all kinds of commerce there, there would be all kinds of businesses there, and there would be all kinds of religious groups there. There would be those who would, who would, who would worship the Roman gods and goddesses or the, or the Greek gods and goddesses. there was a, a Jewish presence there. There would be other, what we call pagan religious groups, but it, it was a major city in that land.

It had a it had a road that in a sense linked the eastern part of the empire to the western part of the empire. And so it, it, it was just like a place where many people would either travel through on their way from the east to the west, or it was a major place for commerce and a major place for various religions. And, and God in His sovereignty, brought Paul, Silas and Timothy to that church or to that city, to establish a church, to, to, to have the gospel, be able to be proclaimed, to preach that Christ, that Jesus has died on the cross and has risen again, and that he is ascended into heaven and he is our Lord, and he is our Messiah, and he can save you from your sins.

So again, you can read about all that in Acts 17.

Well, after Paul was there, as you would read the story, Paul went south to Berea, and then he went south into, to the southern region, into Athens, and eventually he went to Corinth. One of the southernmost places to be in the, in the land of Greece. And after being in Corinth for probably about 9 months to 1 year. Timothy had come back and, and visited Paul.

Paul had sent him out to go and find out about the church and Thessalonica to see how they were doing. And Timothy finally meets him again in Corinth. And based on the report that Timothy gave, Paul writes a letter. This would not be the only letter Paul would write.

He would write what we know as 2 Thessalonians. But in this letter, he addresses one major issue. He wants to make sure that the church is serving the Lord. He wants to make sure that the church is not falling apart, or that the church is dead or nonexistent anymore.

He wanted to make sure he was burdened about the church, and he wanted to make sure that not only were they still meeting and still together, but that they were thriving for the Lord. He was concerned about their spiritual growth. That was the big issue in his heart. That's what he cared about.

He wanted to make sure that that church was growing, that that church was spiritually growing. That they were living for the Lord. And so he writes this letter, and at the beginning of the letter, he addresses issues regarding that there was a problem in the church. There was a group of people trying to take over the church and discredit Paul's ministry among them.

And Paul has to address that, but he writes to the church, he says to them, I give thanks to God for all of you. I'm thankful to God for you because I know that God has saved you, that God has changed your heart, that he's brought you into his kingdom. And that you are now true believers in Christ. You evidence that, you make that known.

And he said, I'm, I'm rejoicing. That God has done that. Because, as he would say in chapter 3. We were burdened for you.

We didn't know what had happened. We were only there for a few weeks. And we had to leave and go to Berea because of, of problems that arose. And we had to keep moving south and And it's been a while.

And so we sent Timothy to find out about your faith, to find out about how you're doing, and Timothy has come back and he's given me a report, and I'm so overjoyed. That you're still together and that God's still working in your life, and that you're committed to him. However, There are some issues that you need to address. And in chapter 4 and chapter 5 of the book.

He, he commands them and encourages them to excel still more and more in regards to areas in their life that would affect their growth in the Lord, their spiritual growth in the Lord, and he deals with specific issues. You can read about those issues, chapter 4 in the first part, or first half. Chapter 5. And so he, he Lists, details, things that they can specifically Work on things that they need to pray about, things that they need to be addressing.

Because if they don't, They may stop spiritually growing, and he didn't want that to happen. And by the time you get to verse 23, By the time you get to verse 23, it it it's Paul's closing words. It's Paul's final remarks. And he wants to give them one final word of encouragement.

Word of encouragement. So that they Can Reflect on that all that he's already said. And know that Paul loves them, that Paul cares about them. And that the Lord cares about them as well.

Paul wants to give this final fatherly wisdom, final encouragement. The final encouraging words. So that their church. But still continue to grow.

And, and for me personally, when, when we were going through that, this chapter and going through this book. The, these verses spoke to me. And, this, this, this passage applies to all of us. But it, it really spoke to, to me in terms of, of our missionary work.

So what I want to do and I got just a little bit of time left, and I want to basically just walk through these real quickly. And, and these are pretty simple to understand. The encouragements that Paul gives. But just meditate on these.

think about this, for your life, for your ministry, for whatever God's called you to do. As encouraging words. To continue to grow spiritually in the Lord. Let me just read these verses to you, starting in verse 23.

Paul writes, now may the God of peace, himself, sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he who called you, and he also will bring it to pass. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.

That's an interesting encouragement, OK? We'll look at that a little bit. I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus, be with you all.

The final verse, verse 28, that's Paul's way of saying he, he started the letter by saying grace to you and peace. He is the letter by reminding them of God's grace. you don't have anything except by God's grace. It's God in His grace that has allowed you to understand who he is, for you to be saved.

If, if it wasn't for God's grace and God's mercy, you would still be dying in your sins, right? We all would. It's God's grace that that saved us. It's by God by His grace that was willing to come and down across and send his son.

That's payment for our sins, and so Paul reminds them at the end, everything that I've said. Just remember this, if you forget everything else, remember this. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Don't ever lose sight of that.

Don't ever forget that. That's what sustained you. It's what keeps you. It's what empowers you.

To do the work that God has called you to do. But when you look at verse 23 through 27, I felt like 4 major Things to be alert to. These are Paul's encouraging words, final encouraging words. And it was as though he was saying, Thessalonian Christians, be alert to this.

Thessalonian Christians, be alert to these things. Don't lose sight of these things. The first one he mentions, he says in verse 23, he says, be alert to God's work of sanctification. Be alert to God's work of sanctification.

He says, now, may the God of peace, that's a title for God. God is the, the peacemaker. God is the one that, that brought, made it about so that you could have peace with him. Now may the God of peace himself.

He's, he's really. Praying and hoping and, and saying that. I pray to God that he will sanctify you entirely. The the idea of sanctification means to be set apart.

And so what you, what Paul's saying is, I'm praying to God. That God would complete his work of sanctification in your life that he has started. Thessalonian Christians, I know that you're, you're, you're saved. I know that you have, have, have been chosen by God.

I know that God is, is in your life, through the power of the Holy Spirit. I know that. I've seen the evidence of it, chapter one, he says. I'm praying that God will continue to sanctify you.

That God will still work in your hearts to draw you closer to his image. He never says here, I pray that God would give you all the abilities to, to, to, to have PhD degrees and be a high academic person. Not wrong having PhD degrees, it's not wrong being academic. But at the heart of the matter, if you're gonna grow in Christ, it's not just about the knowledge that you have of him.

It's about how that knowledge is applied. You ever heard of Alexander Scorby? I don't know if you ever heard of him. He read the King James Version Bible two different times on cassette.

You probably can get it online somewhere. And he's a very eloquent narrator. And he read verse by verse, the King James Version Bible from beginning to end. Then the story is told.

That he never believed a word of what he was reading. He didn't believe it. He could read it. Never believed it, never took it to heart.

And Paul is saying, I want God, I'm praying that God will, will sanctify you that he will work in your hearts. I'm praying that your spirit, soul and body would be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's like Paul saying, I don't know if I'm gonna see you again. I don't know if I'm gonna be able to visit you again.

His, his desire was to come back for a visit. He says, I don't know. And if I don't get back there to see you, I'm praying that God will continue to work in your life, day by day, drawing you closer to him, so that you will be more conformed to the image of Christ and that you would live more according to God's will and God's word, and that your life will reflect his glory, and that you will be a testimony of him, and the only person who can do that is God himself. And I, I, I'm praying that you take God's word to heart.

You don't let it go, when Paul says spirit, soul and body, it's been this discussion about is Paul trichotomous or is he dichotomous. I have no idea I don't think that's the point. I don't think Paul was trying to talk about that. it's a, I guess a worthy debate, but Paul is saying, no matter how you look at it.

Who you are as a whole person. Your spirit, soul, body. I want God to be in charge of molding you more into his image. And faithful, he says, is he who calls you.

And he will bring it to pass. I trust in my sovereign God, and that he will work in your life and work in your heart and draw you closer. I have to trust that he can do that. And I know he can.

He's the sovereign God of the universe. He calls you, he called you. He chose you before the foundation of the world. Now, I know.

That he will continue to work in you. So I, he, he, he says no Paul is saying, listen, I'm entrusting the God of heaven, the God who is more powerful than any of us, the true God of heaven. The true and living God To continue to work in your hearts. And, when, when I'm on the mission field, when I'm in the Philippines, and I'm, I'm ministering to people, ministering to pastors.

That's the encouragement that helps me. And it's a true, it's, it's something that's true. God is the sovereign God of the universe and he works. And even with me and my, I'm not perfect.

You ask my wife, she'll tell you I'm not perfect. She'll be the first to tell you I'm not perfect. And, and, we're all journeying in that road. With the Lord.

We're walking with Him. And there's a lot of times where we have to pick us up and carry us, right? Many times. We should never lose sight of when you're in the ministry, never lose sight of who you're serving, and, and, and, and, and the, and how powerful he really is.

And how much he loves us and cares for us and has committed. To being with us. He never will leave us. He will never forsake us.

Ministry is not about you. It's about God working through you for his glory. And by taking something like this to heart, It's God who's sanctifying you, working in you. That keeps you humble.

There's no place for pride in the ministry. No place at all. So he says, be alert. To God's work of sanctification.

Secondly, be alert to your duty to pray. Verse 25, he says, brethren, he calls them brethren, he, he's called them that, he's used that term many times in, in the letter. And it's always a term of endearment, a term of that I, that we have a commonality that we're brothers and sisters in Christ. It's a term used for family.

And he says, brethren. Pray for us. And on other occasions, he's, he has told them that he prays for them. And they would know that.

Paul has a heart of prayer for them, but he's actually asking for their prayers. In this verse It's as though he's telling the Thessalonian church, you have a duty to pray, we all have a duty to pray, but I'm asking for your prayers for our ministry, he says. Paul did have a unique ministry. he traveled everywhere.

He went to different places, cultures, even within the Roman Empire, it was not the same. it's like being on the East Coast compared to the West Coast. There's differences. there's no in and out on the East Coast.

It's only here, you are so blessed. And, and so, there's different cultures even with within the country, there's different cultures and viewpoints and, and belief systems, even within the Roman Empire, and Paul saw it all. He had to deal with with all kinds of churches dealing with all kinds of issues. And I'll never forget Carlos Cuellar, who, they, they used to be here and I think they're in Texas now.

I remember something he would always say, life is messy. Ministry is messy. And that's just the way it is. And Paul faced challenges.

Paul didn't know what would happen from day to day. He trusted in the Lord, he knew that God was leading and guiding him to wherever he needed to be. But he always wanted the prayers of. His people, of God's people.

Never forget that you have a duty to pray, not, don't, it's not just, oh, let's pray for a missionary. Pray for each other. Continue to do that. Don't lose sight of that.

Have a time where you have a, a, a place to pray or a time to pray, and really lift up those needs to the Lord. It's very, very important. And, there's plenty of scriptural examples about how to pray. Paul's not giving a detailed treatise here on that.

Most likely he has taught them that over the, of the time he was there and they know most of that. It's just saying, listen, we asked for your prayers, and, and, it's, it does encourage us when we know you're praying for us. It, it, it, I don't have any supernatural way of hearing that prayer, OK? I'm not tapped into the internet that well, but, I know that you're praying for us.

Even though I can't physically hear the prayers, but God hears them. And, and we do appreciate that. But be alert to God's work of sanctification in your heart, be alert to your duty to pray. the third, Encouraging word here is, be alert to others need for relationships.

There is a need for relationships, for others, and for you as well. And Paul says here, greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. Now, what a way to show greeting, right? And some cultures still practice this.

But what Paul is, is dealing with here, just a larger issue of the idea that we are people, and God has created us to be as people, and we have been created by God to relate to each other, to, to have relationships with each other. And, and, Paul will talk about how the, how a husband and wife have a very special, unique relationship, parents to children. Older women to younger women, older men to younger men. And he'll give various descriptions or commands to each group of how they can relate to each other.

And the church is a body. You are members, one of another. And so, we have to relate to each other. one guy said one time, ministry would be easy if I didn't have to deal with people.

But if I didn't have to deal with people, I have no ministry. it's one thing to preach to people, it's another thing to preach to empty chairs. We all have the need for relationships. And ministry is accomplished by that in the Philippines.

A lot happens in terms of relationships. The Filipinos are very relational. And they think that way. People are important.

They're more of a people-centered culture than a task-driven culture. Sometimes there's discussions like that in in missionary. training. They would be more classified as a people centered culture.

It's just easy for them to relate. And to think that way, it's part of their world. It's part of how they think. And, and so that actually makes it a little bit easier for us to do ministry, because we, we also, we teach and we train, we have classrooms and, and they sit there and they do their work, but it's not just what happens in class, it's, it's what happens outside of class can be just as important.

If, if a Filipino pastor comes to me and says, can we fellowship? I know exactly what that means. Let's go to a place, let's talk and let's have coffee. And he's asking me to buy it.

Let's fellowship at Starbucks, OK. And so I'll give you the privilege of buying me some coffee. OK, that sounds good. And, but it's just the way that, that's the way it works, and, and it's, it's a, it's nice to be asked to be, to, to, to fellowship, and it's a common thing that we do when we have our weekly class on Tuesday, we give an hour for lunch, and it's not that everybody goes their separate ways and then comes back.

We actually, about 4 or 5 of us will stay at a table. And we, and my wife will make a lunch and I bring it and we, and we have enough to feed about 4 or 5 guys. So we sit there and eat together, we talk together and And we just, it's relationship. Here when Paul's talking about greeting all the brethren with a holy kiss, that was a form of greeting.

In that day and age, if someone was in authority, you would come and maybe greet them, maybe you would kiss their feet. You would kiss their hand. Could you imagine doing that for Pastor Milton when you come in church? I don't know if he would know what that, that would feel weird, let's talk, talk about awkward, but that's, that's what you do.

Somebody in authority with, when you were on the same level, maybe, in terms of The society or work or whatever, it was, kiss on the cheek, and some cultures still do that. for us, it's a handshake or it's a hug. But, but the idea that Paul's getting at here is don't forget about relationships. Don't forget about relating to others, talking with others.

we need to be able to speak into each other's lives. Parents have to do that for their children. You have a responsibility to relate to your children. And help nurture and grow, help them nurture and grow.

We have a, we have a responsibility for each other. And God has left us here to be involved in each other's lives. And I know this is something very well, but Paul wants to make sure that church doesn't forget it. Because it's something that will keep them motivated, keep them on the path to spiritual growth.

So be alert to God's work of sanctification, be alert to your duty to pray, be alert to others need for relationships, and finally, And I'm already over time. So let me wrap this up. He says, be alert to everyone's responsibility to truth. He says in verse 27.

I adjure you. That, that's Paul's way of saying, you better do this. Paul would talk to them like a father to a son. Hey, you better do what I'm about to tell you.

This is a non-negotiable. This is not optional. I adjure you by the Lord. To have this letter.

All 5 chapters, read to all the brethren. So pastor, you don't just read it for yourself. And say, hey, we got a letter from the apostle Paul. Let me interpret it for you.

He says, first thing I want is I want you to read that to everybody. Don't change a word. Read it as is. And why would he say that?

Why would he encourage him to do that? Is because what Paul had written. Was truth And everyone in the church has a responsibility to know the truth and live out the truth. And Paul wanted to make sure that that letter as he wrote it.

would be read. There's other places in Scripture where it talks about the, he told Timothy, right? Be always doing the public reading of scripture. Always make sure you're adhering to the public reading of scripture.

Read it. Have it read not only, not only read it privately, read it publicly, and sometimes they didn't even have copies, for themselves. So the only way they did hear it was publicly. Because it brings up the issue, you need to know what the book says, you need to know what's in the letter.

And this is, if I could say it this way, this is why we're in the Philippines. This is why we went there. This is the purpose of what we do. We want to make sure that pastors can read this Bible.

Can interpret the Bible. And can proclaim it As it was written. And be able to proclaim it week after week after week. And that the church, that these men pastor and shepherd would be exposed to truth being proclaimed faithfully from the pulpit.

That's why we do what we do. That's why I'm there That's why these other families are there. Everything we do goes to that point. Goes to that goal.

And Paul, and one of the final things he says. He says, I wanna make sure that you are keeping the scriptures before the entire church. That no one's confused, that everyone understands, that everyone is taught what The scriptures say. And it starts with by having it read.

And don't change anything that was said or anything that was written. Read it as is. This is his way of encouraging us. His way of encouraging us to continue to do the work that God has called us to do, no matter what it is.

And to do it faithfully. And to do it with hope, and we do it with joy, and do it with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and, and do it in such a way that we know that we're honoring God and glorifying him by what we do. As we come to a close, I would say that The ministry in the Philippines. is dear to our hearts because we're there.

And it always will be. And there are many missionaries serving in many different countries, and there's a need all around the world for the gospel to be preached. And as you pray for missionaries and think about missionaries, and maybe God may be thinking about. Making you a missionary someday.

I, God may be laying that on your heart. When you think about those things. Don't forget about the Philippines. When you pray for us, pray for the Philippines.

If you would ever want to come and visit us. And I, I think a team's gonna come in August. We've been talking about it. Our prayer is that God would use that experience in your life to help you see what he's doing around the world, even though it's just one part of the world.

That God is working. There are challenges there. As there are everywhere. But we know that God in His grace will do what he needs to do.

To get the work done And God places us where he would have us be. For his glory So be encouraged in the ministry God has called you to. Honestly, when I'm in the Philippines, I'm not discouraged that much. I don't, don't live with too much discouragement because I have to remind myself of something like this, that God is on his throne.

And it's such a joy to be there. As you do the ministry, whatever ministry that is, I know it's not easy. But have the joy of the Lord. It will be the strength that you need.

To go through whatever ministry he's called you to each and every day. And never forget That God is working in you, and I know he's working in you. And he will continue to do so. So are you encouraged?

Is it, just, just thinking about what God is doing in your life. Just be encouraged that God is working. Never forget that. And God will continue to work.

Let's pray. Dear Lord, we do Give you thanks for your word and your truth, and how it changes us and how it, and how you, you mold us through what you have said in your word. Now you speak to us from your word. And Lord, may we always be attentive to your word.

And Lord, we are, our family, we're so thankful and grateful to the people here at Cornerstone. This is our home church, and Lord, you, we have so many people that we know and, and, and, and there are new people here that we don't know, and Lord, but we have a commonality, we serve you. And we thank you for Cornerstone and the leadership and the ministries and And those who serve you here faithfully. Thank you for this church being a part of our life, a great part of our life.

We pray your continued blessing. On our church We know that you will work and continue to work in all of our lives. May you receive glory and praise. By what we say and do.

In Jesus' name. Amen.