The Churchtown Weekly Thursday, October 31, 2024
Learn-Grow-Become-GO!
Shout it in the assembly.
Shout it to the world. (Psalm 40)
1 Thessalonians 5:14-22 (BSB)
But it is not just me. EVERY follower is called to discern God’s will and know God’s Word. And the moment that a person makes that commitment, the opposer of God’s will sets out to wreak havoc in the life of the believer. This is something that is true for ALL followers of Christ thus it is something that ALL followers of Christ should be made aware of so that we may indeed as His church be awake and sober, not sleeping as others do, but walking daily in the light of Christ.
Last week, I wrote these words to end the first part of this devotion. This week, Let’s take a look at the discernment of which I speak by examining each of the instructions given by the Holy Spirit through this letter to the Thessalonians.
14And we urge you, brothers, to admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with everyone.
15Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.
16Rejoice at all times. 17Pray without ceasing. 18Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19Do not extinguish the Spirit. 20Do not treat prophecies with contempt, 21but test all things. Hold fast to what is good. 22Abstain from every form of evil.
19Do not extinguish the Spirit. 20Do not treat prophecies with contempt, 21but test all things. Hold fast to what is good. 22Abstain from every form of evil.
The Christian is called to be engaged. Let’s take a look at all of the verbs in the above instruction:
Admonish the unruly (God is s God of order, structure and purpose, not a God of disorder and unruliness)
Encourage the fainthearted (Not every person is granted the constitution to engage themselves in the necessary spiritual warfare. We are called to stand with one another in this endeavor.)
HELP the weak. See the above instruction. If we see a brother or sister who is being spiritually beaten or is on the verge of giving in to the lies of the enemy, it is our duty to help in any way that we can.
Be PATIENT with everyone. This is perhaps the most difficult instruction for any human. Being patient involves setting my will aside so that I do not unrightly impose it upon another person – believer or nonbeliever. Being patient can sometimes be a real strong suit of mine, that is, unless I really KNOW that I am RIGHT! Then I have to really check myself because falling to the temptation to be right, instead of patient, is a common stumbling block.
PURSUE what is good for one another and for all people. Wow. We can discern from this little statement two very powerful truths. One, the only Good is God. We are called to pursue God and thus live out His will on earth. The other Truth is that we are to do this for one another, that is, fellow believers, and for all people. It is a call to evangelize – a call to share the very presence of God with whomever, whenever. Where we go, the Goodness of God goes, and in whatever we do, the Goodness of God is demonstrated (yes, even if it is in rebuking the unruly 😊
REJOICE at all times. Is this even possible? Well, we know that what is impossible for man is possible for, and with, God. We often speak of the uniqueness of the Christian character in that we are able to experience grief or hardship yet given our faith in our salvation, never stop rejoicing. It is indeed one of the most unique facets of our existence, and it seems very strange to people living outside of the Kingdom of God.
PRAY without ceasing. Again, is this even possible? There are stories of monks who made every effort to live this instruction faithfully, even paying other monks to pray in their stead while sleeping.
Praying without ceasing, however, is more about the condition of our soul and our attitude toward God than it is about literally praying a prayer to God every second of every day. Think about what goes through your mind regularly. Does it honor God? Would it be considered holy? Prayerful? This is one of the reasons I will often speak of “The Lord’s Prayer” as the prayer that Jesus gave to His disciples as their whenever, wherever, “go-to” prayer. Train yourself to pray The Lord’s Prayer whenever intrusive thoughts threaten to break in and disrupt.
GIVE THANKS in every circumstance. Wait… EVERY circumstance? This is perhaps an even harder concept to understand than REJOICING in every circumstance. Two things need to be remembered when considering this instruction. The first is that, in fact, EVERY circumstance of our lives can be used by God for the glorification of God and the edification of the believer. The second is embedded in the first, and that is that this kind of Thanksgiving is only possible by the power of God. That power is manifest in our faith, and our faith is demonstrated in trusting God so much that we rejoice and giver thanks to Him for all circumstances because we know that HE will use our circumstances to grow His kingdom.
Do not EXTINGUISH the Spirit. No, we cannot “kill” Holy Spirit. We can extinguish Him in that sense. What we can do, however, is turn our backs and ignore Him. Yes, if He so chooses, He can force us to turn back around, but way more often than not, as we are taught, God gives us all of the information that we need in order to make a good decision and then allows us to make it. Implicit in this is, of course, the idea that we can also make a poor decision. This is what is meant by “extinguishing” God’s Holy Spirit in our lives.
Do not TREAT prophecies with CONTEMPT. To prophesy is to speak the word of God. Under the Old covenant that meant that God would speak directly through various anointed men which, rightly so, we call prophets. The last prophet to directly speak the word of God was our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Upon His ascension and the outpouring of Holy Spirit, His Bride, the church, was given life. As time passed, God also gave us the canon of our Holy Scriptures, what we call the Bible. Put the two together and you have the New Testament plan for speaking God’s Word. It is through His word that He speaks directly to us today – any time, any place, we are able to open God’s Word and hear Him. This, of course, is not to discount the other ways that God provides for us to discern His will and rightly divide His Word – prayer, Godly conversations and teaching, and, of course, allowing Holy Spirit to lead us in our understanding of His word directly.
All of this to say, we never mistreat the Word of God. We demonstrate our reverence for it as we read, speak, and learn. We do not mock the Word, nor do we add or detract from the Word. We do not disrespect the Word by implying what WE would do or say instead of God. We have great joy at Churchtown, and we laugh much – but when it is time to go into the Word, I hope that I demonstrate the reverence for it of which I speak.
TEST all things.
How do we test? That is a very good question, because if we are to be consistent in our testing then we have to have a consistent standard that we use. You see, if everybody tested according to their own standards, then nothing, and I mean nothing, would prove to be right or true or good. I would say one thing, you would say another, and so on. Praise God that we have His Word!
We have His standards that we learn through His teaching! This not only applies to holy living, but it also applies to the actual interpretation of scripture. False teachers who are used by Satan count on people NOT knowing God’s Word. Knowing and understanding His Word allows us to test what is being taught from the pulpit or through and form of media. Moreover, how do we test the moral and ethical behavior of ourselves and others? By measuring against the standards that God teaches in His Word.
I always use the example of the Ten Commandments because they are the foundational teaching of God to His people.
You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself any graven image
You shall not take the take of the Lord in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
Honor your mother and father
You shall not murder’
You shall not commit adultery
You shall not steal
You shall not bear false witness
You shall not covet
The first four commandments deal with honoring God as our Holy creator.
The last six deal with honoring that which He has created.
Given this foundation, we are able to test ourselves and others and what they say and what they do by asking, “does it honor God and His creation?”
Simple – and they say that we need to take the Ten Commandments out of any public space. I say that we need to engrave them on every public space! Can you imagine what the world would be like if we actually followed these simple commands? God does. That’s what breaks His (and our) hearts.
HOLD FAST to what is good.
Again. An ACTION verb! Something that we as His created can DO! HOLD FAST. Be intentional. Be active in the relationship. Resist evil, as Pail teaches, and the Devil will flee! This is a simple instruction, but again a very difficult one for the “average” fallen sinner.
Who really wants to hold fast to what is good when there is so much that is pleasurable and would fill our greedy, self-centered natures? We are inclined to lean into the wicked – only by the power of God within us are we able to HOLD FAST to what is good.
And what is Good? We have already discussed this. God is good – and the things of God are good. In fact, the only good within me is the Holy Spirit of God working through me.
ABSTAIN from every evil
Once again, we my deny our natures, pick up our cross, and walk with Jesus
Every.
Single.
Day.
Not easy (see above). We want to do that which is evil. We want to play God ourselves and try to control our circumstances and the circumstances of others. We want control. We want to satisfy our carnal nature. All of this inclines us to DESIRE every evil, not ABSTAIN from it! But again, as Paul rightly interprets the Word in his letter to the church in Rome (chapter 7)
“21So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Amen and AMEN!
Paul ends his teaching, as he ends many of his teachings with a prayer for the reader / listener. It is a beautiful prayer that the power of God may reach you and change you so that you will be able to live as God instructs.
Receive this prayer now as the benediction to this writing.
Know that I as your pastor pray continually for you as an individual and for us as a congregation.
May God bless you and keep you always – and in all ways. 😊
23Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.
25Brothers, pray for us as well.
26Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
27I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
28The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
WE WILL SEE YOU IN CHURCH!
KIDS FOR OUR KING MEET SUNDAY!!!
Get signed up now for the Christmas Hymn Sing – I have to start putting together the bulletin!
All Thanksgiving bags were accounted for Sunday. Two things:
· Bags need to be returned to the Fellowship Hall by Sunday Nov. 17. (if you end up with 2-3 bags of food and groceries, many people put bags in a box)
· If you missed out (and yes, only people in this congregation would be genuinely upset that they didn’t het to help!) We will be serving 11 families for Christmas. So don’t worry!
ANOTHER BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!
You can now subscribe and listen to the
“Churchtown Podcast Network!”
Available on both Apple Podcasts and Spotify, just search “Turning on the Lights!” and “Churchtown Church of God Sermons” – subscribe and then leave a rating and a review! More folks will see it!
*Audio and video are always posted on our YouTube channel @churchtownchurch (there are 1,100 videos there)
Church Calendar
New Song Singers practice 6:30
Child Dedication and baptism November 17th! Let’s come together for this! (NSS Lead)
Thanksgiving Eve Service 7pm Wednesday Nov. 27 with The Lord’s Supper
Christmas Hymn Sing 6pm Sunday December 1
Remember, the single biggest reason given for why someone attends church for the first time is that a friend asked them!
As always, we continue in prayer for Churchtown, for our community, for the church universal, and for the lost everywhere.
God is good. God provides. Keep your eyes up and on the cross people.
Be well and do good, my friends. And, as always, Keep Looking Up! The lord comes!
REMEMBER THAT!
Opportunities!
We are always seeking individuals to be trained in technology. We would like to develop TEAMS that could rotate weekends.
There is always the opportunity to provide music – join up with the New Song Singers and / or talk to me about a special prelude or piece.
Gather-Grow-Become-Go
Churchtown Church of God
Sunday, November 10, 2024
Welcome to Churchtown!
We are glad you are here!
Prelude Piece, “Be Exulted, O God”
Opening Word
Psalm 34 (NLT)
#98, “Jesus, We Just Want to Thank You”
#88, “Fairest Lord Jesus”
“God Bless America”- a Veterans Day tribute
Our Time in the Word
Matthew 5:1-12 (NLT)
“Shine Jesus Shine!”
Our Time of Corporate Prayer
“The Lord’s Prayer”
The Final Word: Isaiah 12 (NLT)
As a “little” church, we are always asking the question, “What CAN we do?” Well, we can start by caring for the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of each other.We CAN serve the next person God places before us.
We CAN invite that person to church!
We CAN be intentional about going to church and strengthening ourselves and the body.
We CAN serve our community and show who Christ is to those who do not know Him.
We CAN PRAY, PRAY, PRAY – and we can REMAIN FATIHFUL!
I Love Being Your Pastor and Your Friend,
Brian
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