Care

Scripture: 1^st Thessalonians 5:12-22

Video Link: https://youtu.be/p9_RXHv8CM8

Structure:

• Introduction
• Respect your leaders (12-13)
• Care for the needy (14-15)
• Discern God’s will (16-22)
• Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Can you remember the first time you left home? Maybe you were going away on a school camp for a week, or perhaps you were going overseas on an exchange trip or leaving home to go flatting.

In all likelihood one of your parents probably went through a checklist with you. Have you packed your tooth brush? What about your phone charger? Do you have a spare inhaler in case the first one runs out? Make sure you eat properly. Stay away from the boys. Or stay away from the girls. Remember I love you. Stay in touch and call me when you get there. I’m going to miss you.

This is a little ritual that many parents can’t help performing when they send their children into the world. It’s not easy being apart from the people you love. It takes faith.

Today we continue our series in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, by focusing on chapter 5, verses 12-22. In these verses Paul is getting towards the end of the letter and he is preparing to say goodbye.

Before he signs off though, Paul runs through a checklist of things he wants the Thessalonian believers to remember. Paul loves them like family and wants them to be okay in the world without him. From verse 12 of Thessalonians 5 we read… 

¹² Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. ¹³ Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.  ¹⁴ And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. ¹⁵ Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. ¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not treat prophecies with contempt ²¹ but test them all; hold on to what is good, ²² reject every kind of evil.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

There are lots of things in Paul’s checklist for the Thessalonians. We could summarise them under three sub headings…

In verses 12-13 Paul is appealing to the congregation to respect their leaders.

In verses 14-15 he is urging them to care for the needy.

And in verses 16-22 Paul is instructing the believers to discern God’s will.

Let’s start with respecting your leaders.

Respect your leaders:

Donald McGannon once said, leadership is an action, not a position.

Donald was a broadcasting industry executive. He worked to improve the standards of radio and television broadcasting. Among other things, Don insisted on dropping cigarette advertising, at a time when that was an unpopular thing to do. He was a leader who used his influence for good.

‘Leadership is an action, not a position’, was very much Paul’s view on leadership too. In verse 12 Paul says…   

¹² Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you.

The interesting thing here is that Paul uses verbs (or doing words) to describe the leaders of the congregation in Thessalonica. Having a fancy title doesn’t make you a leader. Rather it is what one does that makes them a leader.

The three things a church leader does: Work hard among the congregation. Care for the congregation and admonish people.   

Working hard for the congregation is about service. Good leadership is servant leadership. Leadership takes time and energy. Not just physical energy but emotional and mental energy as well. It’s not only the long hours, it’s also the weight of responsibility a leader carries.   

A good leader works hard because they really care about the well-being of the people. To care for people means to look after them. Make sure their needs are met.

Fun fact, the Greek word translated as ‘those who care for you’, in verse 12, can also mean ‘those who are over you’, as in those who are in authority over you. So the thought here is of someone who uses their authority to take care of others (as opposed to abusing their authority).

Admonish is a bit of an old fashioned word. To admonish someone is to correct them or to warn them to avoid a certain course of action. Admonishing people is essentially about providing guidance. It can sometimes require having a difficult conversation with others.

Of course, the spirit in which a Christian brother or sister admonishes is one of gentleness and humility. Christ like admonition aims to balance grace and truth. The foundation for admonishing people is the example we set.

When thinking about admonishing we might draw on an image from the sailing world. As John Maxwell says: ‘The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.’

Admonishing people is about adjusting the sails to suit the conditions, so the boat doesn’t capsize or go off course.

In verse 13 Paul says to the Thessalonian congregation, regarding their leaders:   

¹³ Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 

In other words, we Christians are to love and respect the leaders among us. Don’t make a leader’s life more difficult through conflict. Nothing will empty a leader of their joy more quickly than having to sort out strife. Support the leaders among you, not with flattery or empty words, but by living in peace with each other. Get along together.

Kiwi culture is relatively egalitarian and independent. Kiwi culture, generally speaking, is not naturally inclined to respect those in leadership. Our wider society suffers from tall poppy syndrome. We, in New Zealand, have a tendency to cut our leaders down, (although one would hope this does not apply so much in the church).

But if you think it through, it is in everyone’s interest to support and respect good leaders because, by Paul’s definition, they are the ones doing most of the heavy lifting. They are the ones trimming the sails and keeping the boat afloat. They are the ones caring for you and looking out for your interests.

To show contempt for our leaders is like poisoning the water upstream. It just makes everyone sick.

So that’s the first thing, respect your leaders. Paul’s next piece of advice is, care for the needy.

Care for the needy:

From verse 14 we read… 

¹⁴ And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

The first thing we notice here is that Paul is addressing everyone in the church, not just the leaders. So everyone in the congregation has a responsibility for pastoral care. We must all be our brother or sister’s keeper. 

In this verse Paul identifies three types of needy persons: those who are idle and disruptive, those who are disheartened and the weak.

The Greek word translated as ‘idle & disruptive’ is ataktos, which literally means ‘out of line’. It originally referred to a soldier who was out of line or slacking off and not following orders. A soldier who is idle and disruptive puts the lives of his platoon at risk. He is a danger to everyone.

There were, apparently, some in the church at Thessalonica who were freeloading off the goodwill of others and not pulling their weight. Paul’s message to them (as we find out in his second letter to the Thessalonians) was, ‘if you don’t work, you don’t eat’.

This may seem a little uncaring of Paul, but it was actually the most caring thing to do. The idle and disruptive were busy bodies, gossips, meddling in other people’s business and generally making things worse. They needed a more positive and constructive occupation for their time, both for their own well-being and for the well-being of the whole community. 

In caring for others we need to avoid creating dependencies. Wise care doesn’t mean doing everything for someone. That is a short cut to resentment for the carer. Wise care motivates people to do for themselves what they can.

The second type of needy person, Paul mentions, are those who are disheartened. The disheartened are sad and need to be encouraged.

We are not exactly sure why some were disheartened. Perhaps they had been worn down by the constant criticism and opposition of their pagan neighbours. Or maybe they were grieving the loss of loved ones. Whatever the reason, they needed the courage to carry on in the Christian faith and not give up.

We give courage to people, partly by the positive things we say, but mostly by staying close to them. Committing to them. Being present with them so they do not become lonely. Because it is when we feel like we are on our own, in our faith, that we are most vulnerable to losing heart and giving up.

In the Old Testament story of Ruth, Naomi had become disheartened. Naomi’s husband and two sons had died. In her sadness she had lost hope and become bitter. But Naomi’s daughter-in-law, Ruth, made a commitment to stay with Naomi whatever happened. ‘Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. Wherever you go I will go there with you.’

God used Ruth’s commitment to redeem the situation and restore Naomi’s faith and hope. There is strength in friendship and community.

The third type of needy person are those who are weak. Again, we can’t be sure who the weak refer to. Maybe Paul means those who are morally weak, who are vulnerable to temptation in some way. Or perhaps the weak are those who are a bit timid or afraid. Either way they needed help.

Interestingly, the Greek word translated as help, literally means to cling to or to cleave. In other words, we are to help the weak by holding on to them, supporting them, holding their hand as it were, giving them security.

Whether someone is needy or not, we are to be patient with everyone. To be ‘patient’ here means to have a long fuse or to be long suffering. It is part of our Christian discipleship to go the distance with people and not give up on others who we may find annoying or frustrating or slow to learn.

Patience is one of the key characteristics of love. Love is patient, love is kind… Paul is giving us a picture here of what love looks like. In verse 15 he says…

¹⁵ Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

Paul is echoing the words of Jesus who said (in Matthew 5)…

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ ³⁹ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.

Both Paul and Jesus’ words here don’t just apply to fellow believers within the church. This teaching applies to our relationship with people outside the church as well. This is not easy to do. We need God’s grace.

It might help for us to remember that someone who does us wrong, isn’t necessarily an evil person. They are more likely a needy person.

Hurt people, hurt people. Do you get what I’m saying there? If someone hurts you, there’s a good chance they are acting out of their own hurt. They may want you to understand their pain and the injustice they have suffered. While their behaviour is unacceptable and wrong, they need healing, not more hurt.

Some of you may remember a story I told of Robyn some years ago. When Robyn was pregnant with our eldest daughter, a boy in her class lost his temper and punched her in the stomach.

When I heard about it my blood boiled. But Robyn put herself in this boy’s shoes. She understood that life wasn’t easy for him at home. She didn’t take it personally. She instinctively knew he was acting out of his own hurt and what he needed most was to be shown love. And so, when he had calmed down, she gave him hug. She had no problems with him after that.     

Hurt people, hurt people. This doesn’t necessarily explain all bad behaviour, but it does remind us to put ourselves in other people’s shoes. Which I think is what Paul is asking us to do in these verses.    

Do you have someone needy in your life?

Are they disruptive and in need of something meaningful to do?

Are they disheartened and in need of your encouragement and companionship?

Are they weak and in need of support?

Are they annoying, do they press your buttons. Do they need your patience?

Are they hurt and in need of healing and grace? 

How might you care for them? What is in your power to do?

I say, ‘what is in your power to do’, because I’m talking to a room full of people who I know do care for the needy and I don’t want you to feel guilty about what is not in your power to do. There is no end of need in this world but there is an end to our energy and resources.

Alongside caring for others, we also need to take care of ourselves. So exercise wisdom and know that God’s grace is sufficient for you.  

Respect your leaders, care for the needy and discern God’s will.

Discern God’s will:

From verse 16 Paul gives us a cluster of imperatives (instructions), in rapid succession, which seem to be about discerning God’s will and walking in it. Paul writes…  

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not treat prophecies with contempt ²¹ but test them all; hold on to what is good, ²² reject every kind of evil.

This topic of discerning God’s will, probably deserves its own sermon series. We don’t have time to explore every knook and crany now but Paul does give us some very helpful tools for situating ourselves in the path of God’s will.

Firstly, he says: Rejoice always. My initial reaction to this is, ‘yea, right’. It doesn’t seem realistic to always rejoice. There are times when we can easily celebrate but other times when rejoicing goes against the grain. So discernment is called for.

If someone does an illegal manoeuvre in their car, we don’t need to say, ‘Thank you Jesus for dangerous drivers. I really enjoy stress’. You don’t have to jump for joy if you get Covid. Nor do you need to put on a happy face if you lose someone or something you love.

I don’t think Paul is suggesting we pretend to be something we are not. He is not saying we should deny our feelings or our circumstances. You see, Paul’s instructions to ¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, [and] ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; are not independent of each other, they go together.

The chapter and verse numbering we have in our Bibles was never in the original text. The numbering was added centuries later to help us find our place. Unfortunately, the demarcation of verses sometimes has the effect of distorting the meaning of Scripture.

The instruction to rejoice always goes hand in hand with praying and giving thanks. Keeping those three together, the message is: discern God’s hand for good in your daily life and talk to him about it. Thank him for the good.  

So, for example, if someone cuts you off on the motorway, once you have recovered from the shock, you might see and appreciate how God prevented an accident and give thanks that no one was hurt. You might also pray for the other driver.

Or, if you lose someone you love, then you might tell God how you are feeling (in prayer) and thank him for the good times you had with that person, taking comfort in the hope that, through faith in Jesus’ resurrection, you will see them again one day.  

In reality, getting to a place where we can truly rejoice and thank God is a process. And we call that process prayer. Prayer isn’t just chatting to God. Prayer also includes times of weeping, times of silence and stillness, times of sacred reading and reflection.     

Praying continually then, is about remaining open to God’s presence and activity in our lives, 24-7. So whatever may happen, whether it seems good to us or not, we are looking for God in it.

It’s not that we always get an answer or understand why things unfold the way they do. It’s more that we recognise we are not alone, that God is with us and for us, working it all for good. And that is something we can rejoice in and give thanks for without having to fake it.  

In verse 19 Paul says: Do not quench the Spirit. This is connected to what has gone before and what follows.

It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to discern God’s will. The Spirit reveals the truth to us. The Spirit intercedes (or prays) for us continually and enables us to see God’s hand for good in all circumstances so that we can rejoice and give thanks with sincere hearts.   

The Spirit also gives prophecy. Now when we hear the word prophecy we might think of someone predicting the future. There can be a future element to prophecy but more often prophecy is a message from God about the present.

You might sense God speaking to you through something in a worship service, like the sermon or a prayer or the words of a song or if someone shares something spontaneous.

But words of prophecy (little messages from God) can also come to us through conversation with others. This can happen when we are not expecting it. In fact, the person we are talking with may not even be aware of the significance of what they are saying.   

Paul’s advice is to have a thoughtful and measured response to prophecy, not a knee jerk reaction. If we think God might be saying something to us, then we need to test it to discern whether it is in fact from God. If the message is consistent with the teaching of Jesus, if it is edifying and helpful to ourselves and others, and if fellow believers concur, then it probably is from God.

Whatever we are presented with, we are to discern the kernel of truth and discard the husk. We are hold to what is good and reject every kind of evil.   

Conclusion:

We have heard today Paul’s advice to respect our leaders, care for the needy and discern God’s will. There is a smorgasbord of wisdom in these verses. What is God saying to us collectively? What is God saying to you personally?

Let us pray…

Lord Jesus Christ, you are the good shepherd. You lead and guide, you care and provide. Give us wisdom and grace to help the needy, without neglecting ourselves. Give us eyes to see God’s fingerprints in our lives and discernment to walk in God’s will. For your name’s sake. Amen.   

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

• How did Paul define leadership? What three things does a leader do?

• Why does Paul instruct the congregation to respect their leaders? How do we respect our leaders?

• Do you have someone needy in your life? What is their need? How can you best care for them? What is in your power to do?

• What does it mean to rejoice always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances?  Can you think of examples from your own life of how to apply these instructions? 

• How can we discern God’s activity in our lives? How can we know when God is speaking to us?