Good evening. Tonight's message
is called The Church and the Pastor. Tonight we'll continue
our study in the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. Let's read verses
1 to 13 together. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse
1. But of the times and the seasons,
brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. yourselves
know perfectly that the day of the lord so cometh as a thief
in the night for when they shall say peace and safety then sudden
destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with
child and they shall not escape but she brethren are not in darkness
that that day should overtake you as a thief you are all the
children of light and the children of the day We are not of the
night nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as
others do, but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep,
sleep in the night, and they that be drunken are drunken in
the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting
on the breastplate of faith and love, and for in helmet the hope
of salvation. For God hath not appointed us
to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who
died for us. that whether we wake or sleep,
we should live together with Him. Wherefore, comfort yourselves
together and edify one another, even as also ye do. And we beseech
you, brethren, to know them which labor among you, and are over
you in the Lord, and admonish you, and to esteem them very
highly in love for their work's sake, and be at peace among yourselves. Verses 1 to 11 in this chapter
concerns the Day of the Lord, and is a continuation of that
topic from chapter 4, verses 13 to 18, which Paul was writing
to the church, the Thessalonians, about. In our last study, we
looked at verses 9 to 11, where we saw that it was God who has
not appointed his people to wrath, but to obtain salvation by the
Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us. Again, Paul is writing to
born-again, blood-washed saints, the church of the Thessalonians.
He's not writing to all the people at Thessalonica. Paul had been
admonishing the saints to be sober, which means wide awake,
alert, watchful, because we're in an all out spiritual war with
the enemies of Christ and his gospel all around us. And we
also battle our own old sinful nature. We have that to contend
with this flesh. So therefore, we are to put on
the breastplate of faith and love. and for an helmet the hope
of salvation. And Paul was moved by the Holy
Spirit to wisely instruct us in these things, not only us,
but to those he was writing to. The breastplate protects the
heart. True God-given faith, coupled with sincere love for
Christ and His Gospel, will protect us from the fiery darts of the
evil forces of darkness, who will hurl every wind of false
doctrine they can our way. The helmet protects the head,
the area where the brain is located, and thoughts are formed in our
minds. We are to set our mind upon Christ,
who is our salvation, knowing that the Holy Spirit will guide
us into all truth. That's why it's so important
for us to hear the true gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. The gospel of God's amazing grace
that teaches us that Our only acceptance with God is through
the perfect, redeeming, sin-atoning work of God the Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ. And when our minds are filled
with the truths of the gospel, our helmet, the hope of salvation,
will protect us from the voices of strangers, false preachers,
as Jesus Christ is the one and only hope. And God's chosen,
blood-bought people, he's the one and only hope we have. And
that is why we need to hear his gospel often. to remind us of
the great things that Christ has done for us. Because God
has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our
Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep,
we should live together with Him. Jesus Christ endured the
wrath of God for all the elect of all the ages when He laid
down His life for us. And this was purposed by God
before time began. If in the eternal decrees of
God, he purposed to save his elect, and he most certainly
did, and there's a particular people who were not appointed
to wrath, a particular people who must live together with Christ
for all eternity, because Christ died for us. Christ shed his
precious blood for us. The Lord Jesus Christ laid down
his life for his sheep. The scriptures declare that he
died for us. that whether we wake or sleep,
we should live together with Him. If we die, that is, fall
asleep in Christ, we will be in His presence the moment the
eyes of our natural body close in death. Scripture declares,
For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened, not
for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality
might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought for
us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto
us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident,
knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent
from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by
sight. We are confident, and I say,
and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present
with the Lord. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 4 to 8. If
we're alive when our Lord Jesus Christ returns, we'll be caught
up to meet our Lord in the air. Therefore, whether we wake or
sleep, all of those whom Christ purchased with His precious,
precious blood on Calvary's cross, shall live together with Him
in glory forever. In our closing verse for last
week's study in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 11 says, Wherefore,
comfort yourselves together and edify one another, even as also
you do. This is what we do. every time
we assemble together for public worship. This is what the preaching
of the Gospel does, and by God's grace we will continue steadfastly
in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of
bread and in prayers. Acts 2, 42. Beloved of God, it
is our Sovereign Lord who has chosen, redeemed, and called
us to that glory and immortality. Therefore, we can be sure of
that inheritance for God and His unchangeable purpose has
determined to populate the new heaven and the new earth with
a people like Christ, the people of his choosing, the people redeemed
by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, a people regenerated
by the power of the Holy Spirit, a people who cry, salvation is
of the Lord. And God gave his son to redeem
those people and to provide for them a perfect righteousness.
And he's given us the Holy Spirit as a pledge of that promise.
Salvation is of the Lord, in its plan, its execution, its
application, and in its continuation, and in its ultimate perfection.
We know that while we are sojourners on this earth, in this natural
body, we are absent from the glorious presence of our great
God, and absent from the full enjoyment of that which we have
been redeemed. Yet, let us always remember that
we are not absent from His general presence. Our God is ever with
us. He's ever with us. And we have
not yet entered into our inheritance. But one day at the appointed
time of God, which God has appointed for us, we will pass from this
world into his glorious presence, beloved. And oh, what a day that
will be. It's all because God has foreordained
us unto eternal glory in and by and through the Lord Jesus
Christ and has given us the earnest of his spirit. We are confident
and assured that we shall enjoy those blessings. Therefore, let
us comfort one another with this wonderful truth. The born-again,
blood-washed saint of God has the Holy Spirit of Christ dwelling
in them. And we cannot be comforted under
the preaching of lies, under the preaching of false doctrine,
under the preaching of the doctrine of man's works and salvation. No, no, that will never bring
the true born-again, blood-washed saint of God comfort. It is the
truth. the preaching of Jesus Christ
and his gospel truths that sets God's children free from the
prison house of unbelief, from the power of darkness, from the
power of Satan, and from the power of sin, and from the power
of self. And all of God's saints are comforted
in knowing that all our sins have been removed from God's
sight forever. when our Lord Jesus Christ paid
the ransom price in full for all the elect of all the ages
by his supreme sacrifice, by the supreme sacrifice of himself
2,000 years ago at Calvary's Cross. And the continual preaching
of that same gospel is what keeps us looking at the Lord Jesus
Christ, the God-man, who when he had by himself purged our
sins, sat down on the right hand of majesty on high, it is of
great comfort to those who have the Spirit of God dwelling in
them to hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ over and over
and over again. Now with the word of Wherefore,
in verse 11 of 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, we see that Paul in
the next verses begins his conclusion of this epistle with a series
of admonitions that will aid and encourage the church as she
should joins here in this world. And these admonitions are seen
in light of the grace of God that has delivered the brethren
who Paul is writing to from idols. They've turned from idols to
serve the living and true God, just as all of the elect of God
have been turned from darkness into the light of Christ. Now
we know that the Church of the Thessalonians were being persecuted
for their faith by their own countrymen. They were experiencing
severe trials and tribulations which had come their way. And
just like them, when the trials and tribulations come, as they
must, every believer has one hope, and one hope in those times. We look to He who is our hope,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And we will see, as we study
this final section of this chapter, Paul's final instructions and
benediction to the saints of God at Thessalonica. Let's read
verses 12 to 13 in this chapter. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verses
12 to 13. And we beseech you, brethren,
to know them which labor among you. and are over you in the
Lord and admonish you. Do esteem them very highly in
love for their work's sake and be at peace among yourselves. Now this is a difficult portion
for scripture for we preachers to preach as we do not want to
draw attention to ourselves. That's the last thing we want
to do. But as the scripture comes forth, we have to deal with it
when we're going through a book. And beloved of God, God's gospel
preachers are God's servants. They are the ministers of Christ,
and they should be heard and treated as such by His people. They are not to be lifted up
on a pedestal. No. They are not to be fawned
over, as though they were superior to any others. They are not to
crave the praise of man. Any man who craves the praise
of man is not God's servant. Yet, those men who faithfully
serve your soul by faithfully preaching the gospel are not
to be lightly esteemed. In the Corinthian church, you
could tell who was preaching by the people who came to the
service. If Paul was preaching, those who loved Paul were present,
but not those who followed Apollos and Peter. Because of their childish
carnality, the Corinthian saints were divided into groups. They
were divided into groups according to the preachers they liked or
did not like. Turn, if you would, to 1 Corinthians,
and we'll look at verses 12 to 17. Perhaps some at the Corinthian
church favored Paul's precise logic. Maybe others, Apollo's
oratory skill. In others, maybe Peter's plainness. It may have been that some liked
and disliked certain personality traits. Look at 1st Corinthians
chapter 1 verses 12 to 17. Now this I say that every one
of you saith I am of Paul and I am of Apollos and I have Cephas
and I have Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified
for you? Or were you baptized in the name
of Paul? Now, the first thing we see in
verse 12 is they brought Christ down to the same level as those
men. Oh, let it never be so. Our Lord
Jesus Christ, he's the prince of preachers. He's the supreme
preacher. No one compares to him. But we
see now there's been camps made in this church at Corinth. Some
saying, I'm of Paul. Others saying, I'm of Apollos.
And I have Cephas. And then, oh my, they They put
Christ in there on the same level as those men. And Paul asks in
verse 13, is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Are
we baptized in the name of Paul? Then he writes, I thank God that
I baptized none of you. but Crispus and Gaius. Lest any
should say that I have baptized in mine own name, and Paul would
never do that. And I baptized also the household
of Stephanus. Besides, I know not whether I
baptized any other. For Christ sent me not to baptize. Christ didn't send Paul and Apollos
and Cephas to baptize. No, Christ sent them, those men,
to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross
of Christ be made of none effect. Now the reason for the strife
within this church was not in the preachers, they were all
faithful men. The reason for the strife was
the carnality of the Corinthian church as they acted like children. If a man or woman is thirsty,
if they are really thirsty, really thirsty for the righteousness
of Christ, if a man or woman is really thirsty and hungers
and thirsts after righteousness, really thirsty, they will not
be terribly fussy about what the cup looks like. And see,
that's all that is. It's the water. It's the water
that quenches our thirst, isn't it? Not the cup. See, they were
looking at the cup. They were looking at the ones
who were delivering the message. They had their eyes off Christ. So if a man or woman is really
thirsty, really thirsty, and hungers and thirsts after righteousness,
again, they will not be terribly fussy about what the cup looks
like, or who made it, so long as it contains the water to quench
their thirst. Now, If they have no thirst for
water, they are far more likely to talk about the cup, aren't
they? Yeah. Oh, look at this cup. It's superior
than all the other cups. It's my favorite cup. Well, people
do the same thing with preachers, and it's shameful. It ought never
to be. We preachers never want anyone
to pit one preacher against another. Never. We're just servants of
Christ. That's all we are. That's all
we are, servants of Christ, saved sinners, just like our brothers
and sisters in Christ. And our text brings forth, and
we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you,
and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you, and to esteem
them very highly in love for their work's sake, and be at
peace among yourselves. Now, in the day that this letter
was written, There was sometimes a plurality of pastors because
the church met in various houses. And though some churches in our
day have a plurality of elders with a hierarchy, it was not
so in the early church. The preachers labored among the
body. And we see in these verses that
Paul admonishes the brethren concerning them. You know, he
did so in other places in scripture. In 1 Timothy 5, 17, the scripture
declares, let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of
double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine. Hebrews 13, 7, the scripture
declares, remember them which have rule over you, who have
spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering
the end of their conversation. Then in Hebrews 13, 17, it says,
obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves,
for they watch for your souls. They must give account that they
may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitable
for you. Now, religion over the years
has come up with varying views of a pastor, and much of what
they have conjured up has no scriptural support, and men in
false religion are nothing more than hirelings who consider being
a pastor as a job. Pastoring is not a job. It's
a calling. It's not being a facilitator
or a referee or someone to fire if the contract standards were
not met. No, a true gospel preacher is a sent man of God, and the
office of a pastor is one who preaches the gospel, preaches
Christ and Him crucified. We see in scripture that the
office of pastor is defined. First, we see in verse 12 that
they are over you in the Lord. And this in no way implies that
they are better than you or that they are to look down at you.
Never. Neither is the pastor to be a
dictator. And this phrase Brother Tim James
brings forth is limited to preaching the gospel and admonishing, rebuking
and reproving with the gospel. Let's look at verse 12 again.
And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among
you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you. The rule
of a saint pastor is of a benevolent leader, whose leadership is in
spiritual things. Brother Tim James continues,
The pastor is neither judge nor jury nor executioner. He is the
teller of good things. He proclaims the gospel. He labors
in word and doctrine and does not control or govern the lives
of those to whom he ministers. The role of the pastor is wrapped
up in assuring that which proceeds from the pulpit is the gospel.
Brother Tim James continues, their love, their counsel, their
ministry is the gospel of the grace of God. And that is the
only way that they watch for your souls is those who must
give account. They are also the servants of
the flock. He says, the buck stops at the
pulpit. His pastors are your servants for Christ's sake, end
quote. Beloved of God, we pastors serve
the flock of God by ministering the gospel, and we preachers
are said to belong to the church. As Paul said to the church at
Corinth, we are yours for the church of the living God. This
is the most pleasant truth. We see in verse 12 that Paul
first besieges the brethren concerning the pastors with the words that
they are to know them that labor among you. Look at this. 1 Thessalonians
chapter 5 verse 12, And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which
labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish
you. Now the Greek word for know there in our text in verse 12
is odia, which generally has to do with perceiving that which
is obviously revealed. The brethren are to acknowledge
that the pastor is the man whom the Lord has sent to them, and
the one who must give account for their souls. The pastor labors
in word and doctrine. It admonishes his hearers to
do all things with their hearts and mind on Christ. Look at verse
13. We see in verse 13 that the brethren
are to esteem their pastors and to esteem them very highly in
love for the work's sake and be at peace among yourselves.
Again, this has to do with the office. The believers are to
follow their pastor as their pastors follow Christ. We saw
that brought forth in chapter 1 verse 6. Let's read verse 5
also with that. 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verses
5 and 6. For our gospel came not unto
you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost,
and in much assurance, as we know what manner of men we were
among you for your sake. And ye became followers of us,
and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction,
with joy of the Holy Ghost." That doesn't mean that they followed
Paul and worshipped him, not at all. They followed him as
he follows Christ. Pastors are to be highly esteemed,
but never to be looked at as above anyone. Never to be looked
at as heroic in any way. We are men of flesh. We are men
of flesh, men of sinful flesh. and we are plagued with the same
sin as everybody else. Oftentimes, people put pastors
on pedestals, and this should never be, because the ground
at the foot of the cross is level. We are all sinners in our natural
state. and we are still sinners after
the Lord saves us. But praise be to God, we're clothed
in the perfect spotless righteousness of Christ. But every one of God's
elect are saved by the same mercy and grace. There is no one who
is better than anyone else. We are all a bunch of mercy beggars. Listen to the words of our master
when he was speaking to the Pharisees. Now those Pharisees were highly
esteemed in man's eyes. And our Lord says to them in
Luke chapter 16 verse 15, and he said unto them, ye are they
which justify yourselves before men. So those Pharisees, they
justified themselves before men. Look at what we do by their works. They justified themselves before
men. But it says this, but God knoweth
your hearts, for that which is highly esteemed among men is
an abomination in the sight of God. So man might say, well,
look at that fellow. Oh, surely. Surely that fellow's
going to heaven. Oh, they're they're such a good
person. Well, there's none good No, not one and that which is
highly esteemed among man is an abomination in the sight of
God turn if you would to 2nd Corinthians chapter 2 verses
12 to 17. Now every sent preacher of God
will say these words with Paul. Who is sufficient for these things?
Let's look at the context of those words which Paul spoke.
2 Corinthians chapter 2 verses 12 to 17. Furthermore, when I
came to Taurus to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened
unto me of the Lord. Look at that. Paul went wherever
he went, Paul preached the gospel, Christ's gospel, the gospel of
God's free and sovereign grace, the gospel of a salvation accomplished
and finished by the Lord Jesus Christ. And he says here, and
a door was opened unto me of the Lord, never forget. Never
forget, anytime you get to speak to someone or witness to someone
about the great things that God has done for you, even every
time we preachers stand up in the pulpit, that's a door opened
unto us by the Lord. And he goes on to say, I had
no rest in my spirit because I found not Titus my brother,
but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia. Now thanks be unto God, which
always causes us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the
Savior of His knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto
God a sweet savor of Christ, in them that are saved, and in
them that perish. To the one we are a savor of
death unto death, and to the other the saver of life unto
life. And then Paul writes these words which every sent preacher
of God says, and who is sufficient for these things. For we are
not as many which corrupt the word of God, but is of sincerity. But as of God and the sight of
God, we speak in Christ. Beloved of God, the pastor is
to be highly esteemed for the work's sake, and this is even
of a very narrow scope. What is the work, one might ask?
What is the work and labor of the pastor? What's to preach
and publish the good tidings of good things that's brought
forth in the Old Testament and in the New. Isaiah 52.7 says
this, How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him
that bringeth good tidings, that publish peace, and bringeth good
tidings of good, that publish salvation, that saith unto Zion,
Thy God reigneth. And then in Romans 10, Verse
15, And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is
written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the
gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things. Oh, the
only way we have peace with God is in and through the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the gospel of peace is the gospel of Christ. And
it's good tidings, and it's glad tidings to sinners who are saved
by the grace of God. And the esteem the brethren are
to have for the pastor has to do with his singular job description. And Paul clearly brings that
forth in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verses 2-5 where he says, For
I am determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness
and in fear and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching
was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration
of the Spirit and of power. that your faith should not stand
in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God. Well there's
the job description of the pastor, right there in 1 Corinthians
2, verse 2. For I am determined not to know
anything among you save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. If
the pastor preaches the gospel, the gospel of salvation in and
through the Lord Jesus Christ alone, the gospel of a finished
salvation accomplished by Christ in Christ alone, then esteem
Him highly in love for the work's sake. If he does not preach the
gospel, he is not a pastor at all. And this high estimation
is in love for the work's sake. The church is a body of believers
that are to esteem one another better than themselves and to
esteem their pastor in love for the work's sake, for the preaching
of the gospel. And the entire body, including
the pastor, does not seek the preeminence. No, they seek the
lowest place in the gathering, and the result will be peace
among the people of God. And the last part of verse 13
says, and be at peace among yourselves. Beloved of God, the Lord Jesus
Christ is every believer's peace. By the supreme sacrifice of Himself,
our suffering Savior reconciled all of His elect to God. God
is not angry with His blood-bought children, as all of His chosen
people not only receive a full pardon from God for Christ's
but our blessed Redeemer has by Himself purged all our sins. He has removed our sins from
God's sight as far as the east is from the west. Oh, what peace
floods the soul of those who are born again by the Holy Spirit
of God for those whose eye of faith looks to the Lord Jesus
Christ, believing that He sanctified and perfected us forever when
He laid down His life for us. So rejoice, you who are the beloved
of God. God remembers our sins against
us no more. And those who are redeemed by
the precious, precious blood of the Lamb of God, the Lord
Jesus Christ, and have experienced the miracle of the new birth,
are the only ones who have this blessed peace with God. God tells
us in his word that the wicked have no peace. And the Word of
God admonishes us here in our text to be at peace among ourselves. Beloved of God, if God so loved
us, we ought also to love one another and we are to manifest
our love for one another with all lowliness and meekness, with
longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Behold,
beloved of God, behold how good and how pleasant it is for the
brethren to dwell together in unity. Glory be to God, for the
Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Redeemer. Amen and Amen.