Get Ready For His Coming
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 NKJV
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
When you live with an expectancy of the second coming of Christ, you will live soberly and holy. There are too many “Submarine Christians” around, they are the ones who praise the Lord at Church services but hide during the week, and hardly anyone knows they are Christians.
Here we see a list of seven things we must keep doing while waiting for the return of our Lord.
1- Rejoice always,
Happiness tends to be externally triggered and is based on other people, things, places, thoughts and events. For example, we can feel happy when we receive something like a gift or achieve something like awards or honours.
Joy, on the other hand, is something deeper. It is something we feel internally in our lives as human beings. For example, when we feel great joy when we worship God the Father and when we feel great joy when we remember our Lord Jesus Christ dying on the cross to save us from sins.
Joy is something to do with our inner nature rather than the outer nature of our human character. John 15:11 NKJV says, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
Also, Romans 8:14 and 26 NKJV tells us, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
It is impossible to maintain joy in our lives without the Holy Spirit, after all, Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit. (See Galatians 5:22) NKJV
2- Pray without ceasing,
C. M. Ward was a pastor, evangelist, and radio broadcaster, who one day invited two men to the platform to pray Psalm 23, the first man, was an elegant gentlemen, who prayed eloquently the whole Psalm, with no mistakes, pronouncing every word perfectly. The second man, also prayed the same Psalm but was overcome with emotion and couldn’t pronounce very well the words. After that C. M. Ward preached and had a powerful service. At the end of the service someone questioned Ward the reason of asking two men to pray the same Psalm, to which He responded: “The first man knew the Psalm very well, the second man knew the Shepherd”.
So many people pray but don’t know personally the Shepherd, as born again believers our aim is not being eloquent in our prayers, but knowing the heart of the Father and pray His will. Jesus is returning soon for those who know Him in a personal relationship.
3- In everything give thanks;
Being thankful keeps us humble and our heart soft. Be thankful to the Lord for everything, including hard times, because it helps us build our character. Be thankful for the fellowship of believers who are constantly encouraging you in your faith to stay alert for the coming of the Lord. Don’t miss the connect meetings or Sunday church, it’s a privilege to be able to gather together in one spirit worshiping the Lord. It’s time we obey what Hebrews 10:25 KJV tells us, “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Christians that do not belong to a New Testament, Spirit filled local Church are in direct disobedience to the Lord. The Lord set up five fold ministries (Ephesians 4) to equip the saints, each one of us must be accountable and learn to function under authority in the Church.
4- Do not quench the Spirit.
As we wait for the return of the Lord, there’s always the temptation of getting frustrated, impatient and discouraged, but we cannot grieve the Holy Spirit by speaking or doing evil. As Ephesians 4:29-32 NKJV says “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
5- Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast to what is good.
Beware, of the Balaam spirit, false prophets that prophecy for profit, and there are many of them. Normally, these people have no authority over them, wanted to build their own empire instead of the Kingdom. Some people have become tired of them and begin to despise prophecy in general, but in this passage we are encouraged to do not despise the true prophesies from the Lord.
In the Message translation says it like this, (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22) “Don’t suppress the Spirit, and don’t stifle those who have a word from the Master. On the other hand, don’t be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what’s good. Throw out anything tainted with evil.”
And in the Passion translation says it like this, “And don’t be one who scorns prophecies, but be faithful to examine them by putting them to the test, and afterward hold tightly to what has proven to be right.”
There is an implication in the context of verse 19 and 20, that we put out the Spirit’s fire when we scorn prophecy. Prophecy is a valid gift of the Holy Spirit needed by the church today. There is no place in Scripture or in church history that indicates the gift of prophecy has ceased or disappeared. It is an active function of the Holy Spirit in the church around the world. We must not ignore, despise, or scorn any true gift of the Holy Spirit. Putting out the fire of the Holy Spirit is connected to scorning the prophetic ministry. We need prophets and prophecy to keep the fire (inspiration) of the Holy Spirit burning in our hearts.
In Colossians 2:18 NKJV we read, “Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.” Obviously, according to this passage, there were false Christians leaders around in the time when Paul wrote this letter, and unfortunately, there are false leaders today. What can we do about it? Not much, except to be alert and don’t be deceived by them. The word test in Aramaic used in 1 Thessalonians 5:21 can be translated as “Regard everything seriously and choose what is best.”
There is a responsibility from our part to discern by the Holy Spirit what is right and what is not right, and then to hold fast to what is good. For certain, we must be diligent to study God’s Word.
6- Abstain from every form of evil.
Another version says, “Avoid every appearance of evil,” which is not only things that are clearly evil, but also things that can be interpreted by others as evil. In 1 Peter 5:8 NKJV the Lord warns us to
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
Sin needs not only to be repented of but also needs to be confessed and forsaken.
Matthew 16:24 NKJV
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.””
7-The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 NKJV “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 4:14 NKJV “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
We must live like Jesus died yesterday, resurrected today and is coming back tomorrow. Having a pregnant anticipation and a child like expectancy of Christ’s coming.
Be in faith and not fear, knowing that if you trust the Lord He will not fail you, it’s not in His nature.
Pastors Steve and Karina Maile