Morning, brethren. Let's be turning
to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. In this chapter, Paul begins to
close out his epistle to the Thessalonian believers with short
exhortations. And I want to focus on the first
three of these exhortations this morning with you, beginning in
verse 16, and we'll read it. Paul says, Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Now we're going to take each
of these three verses one by one for our points. So the first
one is Rejoice, Evermore. Now, this epistle is written
by the Apostle Paul to the church. That means that this word is
for believers. It's written to believers. And therefore, when we're looking
at what does Paul mean to rejoice evermore, it's to be understood
and received by us concerning spiritual things. This is written
to spiritual creatures concerning spiritual things. This is concerning
spiritual things. And so this is an exhortation
to the new man, that which is born of the spirit of God. This is written to you who are
brought under the blood of Christ. your sins being washed away by
his blood, his sacrifice having made satisfaction for you, brethren. Now, what do believers have to
rejoice in? What are we rejoicing in? What
is Paul speaking of in terms of our rejoicing? Well, first of all, we are made
partakers. We are made partakers of the
heavenly blessings in Christ Jesus. We have been blessed of
God to be given an interest in Christ. You know, if someone
wealthy or rich in this world's things passes away and the people
of his family or those who he's leaving things to, they're called
and gathered together and they come because they have an interest
in that inheritance. But what do I care? If I have
no pardon, what do I care if someone passes away and leaves
me nothing of their great riches in this world? I have no interest
in him. But concerning the inheritance that we have in Christ, he's
given you that believe him in interest in the inheritance of
God. He's wrought that life in you
so that you care, you hear, you want to hear, you have an interest
in the things of God. Well, that's of grace, brethren.
That's of grace. That's given to you. That's a
gift given to you, made effectual to your heart. That's not because
of something that you did or because of something that you
are by your works and your doing. That's the gift of God. Eternal
life is the gift of God, and that has to do with what Christ
has done for us. We rejoice in the Lord Jesus
Christ, who being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. And what that means, what that
speaks of to us is that Jesus Christ is the propitiation for
his people. It means that God is merciful
to us for Christ's sake. We are received and accepted
of God for Christ's sake. And he made satisfaction to God
for his people that we might be made partakers of that inheritance
of the saints in life. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter
1. Ephesians chapter 1. In verse 4, Paul reminds us that it is according
as the Father hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation
of the world that we should be holy and without blame before
him in love. This is an eternal work which
our God has done for us. It began in eternity past and
continues forward to eternity future, forever and ever. having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself according to the good pleasure of his will, to the
praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted
in the beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. Because of our Lord's sacrifice
unto the Father, God is just to forgive us of our sins. He
is just to be at peace with us. He is just to forgive us and
to receive us for Christ's sake. All who believe Christ, all who
trust in the One whom the Father hath sent, they shall meet a
merciful, kind, gracious God. All who come to Him in Christ
shall be received of the Father in mercy, in peace, in forgiveness
because of Christ. He promises, our God promises,
I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more. That's all for Christ's sake,
brethren. We have much to rejoice in. This wicked world teaches
us that it tells us that it's by our works, that it's by our
doing, that it's by what we don't do that God will receive us,
that it's based on something in us that we find forgiveness
with God. And the natural man left to himself,
left in darkness, left in unbelief, he receives that false word,
that lying word, which is not the truth. God doesn't receive
us because of something in us. He receives us because of Christ. And so we come to the Father
in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's much to be thankful for. That's much to be rejoicing in,
because we have no good works. We have nothing to boast in of
ourselves. God's word opposes the way of
man. And he tells us that, what he
is against, that he may tell us the truth and the way of salvation. Isaiah said it this way in Isaiah
64, verse 5 and 6. God meetest him that rejoiceth
and worketh righteousness. Those that remember thee in thy
ways. That is, we remember God's way
of salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ. Otherwise, we have no
salvation. Otherwise, we'll meet an angry
God who will not receive us. But we are made to remember God
in His ways. Behold, thou art wrath. Thou
art angry, he's saying, for we have sinned in those is continuance. Our sin continues in us. It's
not that we have put away sin or that we don't sin anymore.
There's a continuance there. And we shall be saved. And the
purpose of our salvation is because of covenant grace. God remembers
the covenant that he's made with us and established for us in
the blood of his darling son, Jesus Christ. And Isaiah goes
on to say, but we are all as an unclean thing, and all our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags. And we all do fade as a
leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And so what the Lord is showing
us is that it's not because we have fixed ourselves. It's not
because we have made an atonement with God, a sacrifice with God
for him to receive us. It's not by our works of righteousness
which we've done. They're filthy rags in God's
sight. He doesn't receive them. The
one whom he receives is Jesus Christ, and he's told you of
him, and he's made his life effectual in your hearts, you that believe,
so that you come to God in Christ and are received of him. And he manifests that life and
that light and that faith and that hope in you, his people. and brings you to him always
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so man has his way, which
is the way of death, and God has his way, which is the way
of life and salvation, in and by the Lord Jesus Christ, who
said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto
the Father but by me. And you who come to the Father
in the Lord Jesus Christ have much to rejoice in because He
is the very salvation of God. And so, you that know Christ,
you know God. You that know and believe Christ,
you know and believe the Father who sent Him. And so rejoice
in Him. Rejoice in the true and living
God because He has provided everything we need in the Lord Jesus Christ. All that we need that we could
not do for ourselves under the law of Moses or under the traditions
of man, God has done it for us in Christ. in the Lord Jesus
Christ. You have heard the voice of the
Son of God, and you follow him. And that is what the sheep of
Christ do. They follow him. They know my
voice, Christ said, and they follow me. The wicked don't do
that. You that look to Christ, you
that hope in him, you that believe him, that is the gift of God. That is his grace. That is his
power being manifested in you. who have nothing in yourselves
to boast in, but have everything to boast in before God in the
Lord Jesus Christ. We have much, much to rejoice
in. Paul said it this way. Be it
known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this
man, the Lord Jesus Christ, is preached unto you the forgiveness
of sins. And by him all that believe are
justified from all things. You mean my worst, dirtiest,
filthiest sins? From all things Christ has put
away your sins and made you righteous in himself to stand before the
true and living God who is holy and perfect and sees all. But your sins are covered by
the blood of Christ. You that hope in him, rejoice. Because He has justified you
from all things which you could not be justified by the law of
Moses. Therefore, brethren, with that
spiritual understanding, we have much to rejoice in. Much to be rejoicing in, because
God has provided everything in Christ. Now, to our rejoicing,
Paul adds this exhortation in verse 17, 1 Thessalonians 5,
17. He says, pray without ceasing. Now, there's two things I want
to deal with this. There's a time element that concerns the frequency
of our prayers. And then we'll seek to uncover
the why, why we pray with such frequency. Now, as I was studying
this, there's some commentaries that state that the meaning of
praying without ceasing means have a set time to pray. Put aside some time each day. whether the morning or night
or both times, and pray. And seek to not let anything
in this life interfere with keeping that time. That is one understanding
of pray without ceasing, that be sure that you set apart time. And go to the Lord in prayer.
And don't let anything interfere with that. Don't be separated
from that prayer with your God. Others also admit that we have
things to do. Some of us still work and there's
provisions that have to be made for the cares and things of this
life. And so while you're going about
the things that you do, remember the Lord, that you don't have
to stop praying as you're doing your daily tasks, whatever they
may be. And so we can pray in our hearts,
we can pray in our minds. There's times where life just
hits us in such a way that we raise up a sigh. because we suddenly
are struck with the feeling of our own infirmities. or the infirmities
and the weakness of our bodies, or some trouble that's come upon
us or a loved one, and we sigh, and we lift up a prayer in that,
asking for the Lord, help, Lord, have mercy, Lord, forgive me,
Lord, and we pray in that manner as well. Paul's saying, likewise,
the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should
pray for as we ought, but the spirit itself maketh intercession
for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." Even those things
that we don't know how to pray, your God knows. And sometimes
all we can muster is a groan and a feeling of our infirmities,
asking the Lord, we don't even know what, but trusting, Lord
help, help. Lord, save me. And so the purpose
is, you know, I know that we've been struck with,
disappointed with religion, disappointed with ourselves, and so there's
a putting off sometimes of those things, a neglect of those things,
because we think, well, that's just mechanical. And so we resist
that mechanical sense of things and put it off from us. But we shouldn't be turned from
the Lord. And when it becomes mechanical,
confess that to the Lord in your prayers. If your prayer is mechanical,
or just rote, or just some form which you know is dead, confess
that to the Lord. But don't neglect the Lord. Go
to the Lord in prayer. He calls us to seek Him and to
pray to Him. And so it's good for us not to
leave off prayer or to go days without thinking of the Lord
or praying to Him, there's value in being humbled before the Lord,
being reminded that we're not our own. We're purchased with
a price. He's our Lord. He's our husband. He's our friend. He's our savior. We need him, brethren. And the
Lord shows us that we need him. And so there is benefit to seeking
the Lord in prayer. and seeking to go to the Lord
regularly in prayer. It's of His hand. It's not of
our flesh. But He makes it beneficial to
us because He teaches us and instructs us. And so, it's good
to set a part time because I know when I'm doing other things and
trying to pray, if I'm driving, I get distracted very easily.
And when I start, I forget very quickly, sometimes. Sometimes
only a few words into it, so it's good to set apart time. And I know that we can get distracted
even in that, because of the weakness and the infirmity of
this flesh. But it's good to go to the Lord and to seek him
and not to neglect that prayer. So pray without ceasing, Paul
says. That's the frequency, and here's the why. Paul exhorts
us to pray without ceasing because the reality is there are some
professed believers who do neglect prayer. I'm guilty of it myself,
of neglecting prayer, of putting it off, of letting things come
in the way of that time with the Lord. And then, when do you
come back to it? When you're distressed, when
you're troubled, when suddenly you're struck with some distressing
situation. And then, there we are before
the Lord, praying to Him. And there's times when I don't
feel like praying and don't want to. But honestly, that's the
time when I need it most, when I'm willfully negligent of prayer. Sometimes I don't feel that I'm
worthy to come to the Lord. And the fact is, I'm never worthy
in and of myself ever to come to the Lord. Any worth that I
have is of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's worthy, and He leads us
into the presence of God. And for His sake, we may come
into the presence of God and call upon our God and confess
our sin before Him. And so go to the Lord. Sometimes
I tell myself I'm too busy. Sometimes I remember I should
be seeking the Lord about this, especially for a message. And
then sometimes I feel, well, now I'm behind. And if I stop
and pray, I'll be even further behind. Whoa, wait a minute. Because, I mean, do you hear
how the excuses that we make in the flesh, the reality is,
if I'm too busy, do I really think that by my effort I'm gonna
do any improving on the word of God? Because I'm able, by
my own works, to make a bigger mess of things, and to make it
worse. But God is able to give clarity
of thought, clarity of mind, to help in the preparation and
the study and the understanding of His Word, and to prepare notes. And without Him, can I really
even come into the pulpit and say anything of profit unto you?
No. No, not at all. And so, we're
never too busy. In fact, any time I've stopped
and sought the Lord, I've never been disappointed in it. That's
not to say that I always feel something afterwards or notice
some impact, but I can say to you, I've never regretted going
to the Lord in prayer. I've never suffered once for
going to the Lord in prayer. and laying my cares before him
and seeking him in it. And so it's always good because
it is humbling. It's a confession. Just going
to the Lord in prayer is a confession. Lord, I'm not able. Lord, I am nothing without you. It's admitting, Lord, I need
you. I need you. I'm but flesh. And I am weak. And I'm a fool in and of myself.
And I don't know anything as I ought to know. But Lord, you
are Lord. and you've provided everything
that I need. And so it's good for us to be humble, to get on
our knees, to go to the Lord in prayer, in addition to driving
and praying. But it's good to set apart time
and to seek the Lord and to trust him. And then I said there was
two things, but I'll add this, that when I don't even know what
to pray, when I go to the Lord and I find that my heart is hard,
that I'm cold, that I don't know what to say, that I've been indifferent,
that I've been negligent, and I'm sheepish and embarrassed
and ashamed of myself, the thing I find that helps is just begin
by thanking the Lord. Thank Him for Christ. Thank Him
for grace. Thank Him for His mercy and kindness
and His long-suffering with me who's been so negligent and neglectful,
and forgetful, and indifferent, and just begin to thank him.
And it's like finding a pole in his shirt, and you kind of
pull that thread, and then it just keeps on coming. And when
you just begin in thankfulness, you'll find that there's much
to be thankful for. And then you remember how, hey,
you know, I was praying for my brother. And the Lord answered
that prayer. The Lord kept him. The Lord preserved
him. The Lord gave him health and
strength. And we remember those things.
And then you're thanking the Lord for being the God who hears
prayer. and being the God who answers
prayer, and you find there's much to be thankful for, and
then you're glad to go and carry new cares to the Lord, remembering
and knowing that He answers prayer, and He hears the prayer of His
people, and so these things begin to flow more and more, and so
that's a good place to be. Pray without ceasing. Seek the
Lord in it. Ask Him to show you And He will,
because He's the one who puts it on the heart in the first
place. In order that He may bless it and reveal that blessing to
you in Christ. It's all of Him, brethren. And
then that leads us nicely to what Paul said, in everything
give thanks. And everything give thanks, for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." Now there's
two, I think, blessed senses to the meaning of that verse. First of all, the one sense is
that God has saved us. and given us to his Son, put
us in the Son, that we be a thankful people unto our God. That's one
of the senses, that he's saved us, that we be a people who are
thankful to God and rejoice in him. And so, in one sense, we're
thankful for the temporal blessings that we have, for the provisions
that God has given to us, the abundance that he's provided
us with in clothing us, in feeding us, in giving us brethren and
friends and family, and many blessed temporal things. We're
made thankful for those things. And then we're to give God thanks
for all his spiritual blessings. of his redemption in Christ,
that he chose me, an unworthy sinner who's done nothing to
earn the favor of God and done nothing to even give him even
a portion of what he's given to me in Christ. and to thank
Him for the blessings of salvation, to thank Him to hear His Word,
to thank Him that we have Bibles. You know, there's sometimes on
Facebook, people reach out and they say they don't even have
Bibles. And so there's places still where they don't even have
the Word and are hungering for the Word, but we have the Word.
Be thankful for that Word. Be thankful that we may come
before Him in prayer and rejoicing. And so all these blessings we've
been given in Christ, we have life and salvation, we're to
be thankful unto our God for these many provisions, temporal
and spiritual. And then the second sense in
which this verse speaks to us, which I think we often miss,
is that he says, in everything give thanks for this is the will
of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Meaning that whatever it
is that you're going through right now, whether it be a joyful
thing, or it be a trial, some trying thing. Some sickness, some disease,
some setback, some failure, some hardship, some trial that you're
going through, some heartbreak, something that tries you. Whatever it is, you may give
thanks unto God because He's given you that for your good. He's given you that to bend the
knee, to bring you to God, to bring that to God, and bring
you into the presence of God in prayer to seek Him. Because
otherwise, when things are only going well, that's when we tend
to be most neglectful and most forgetful of the Lord. And so
whatever it is that He's given to you, it's for your good, and
we may be thankful unto God for that very trial and that difficulty
to bring it to Him. It's for your good, it's for
your edification, it's for your growing in the grace and knowledge
of your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It's to help you in some
way so that in the way that you are comforted, you may comfort
your brethren also who go through similar trials and difficulties
when they do. And so it's for us to minister
this salvation to one another, rejoicing always, praying unto
the Father in all things without ceasing, praying for your brethren,
being thankful in the Lord, trusting Him that whatever you're going
through, it's given to you for good, it's given to you for a
purpose, and you may be thankful to Him for it, trusting Him through
that difficulty. Because He says, we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called according to purpose. The purpose. It's His It's his purpose. So brethren, rejoice evermore,
pray without ceasing in everything. Give thanks for this is the will
of God for you in Christ Jesus. Amen.