COUNSEL TO BELIEVERS 1

1 Thessalonians 5:16-19,22

Always be joyful.

Never stop praying.

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.

Stay away from every kind of evil.

Paul, Timothy and Silas were ending their first letter to the church at Thessalonica, they stated key things the believer must observe and practice.

The first one is honour for our spiritual leaders and those who WORK for the Lord:

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13a

Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance.

Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work.

Now this!

This is very important for believers, you must honour those who give you spiritual guidance, the Lord expects this from us.

We are in the days when supposed "men of God" are insulted and ridiculed by the general public. Is there good reason why this is so? YES, many impostors have occupied positions of spiritual authority making a mockery of this very important service.

We have lazy people who do not want to work diverting into ministry, we also have those who go into ministry just to acquire wealth, prestige or power.

Listen to the duty of true spiritual leaders;

1 Thessalonians 5:12b

They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance.

1Thessalonians 5:12b (KJV)

which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;

1 Thessalonians 5:12 (message)

those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience.

Listen, they are among you, they do not separate themselves as superior or kings lording over you, NO, Christ warned us against that.

Mark 10:42-45

So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them.

But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,

and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

They have the responsibility of guiding you and correcting you. This means they leave righteous lives and stand as examples, they help us to live that christian life, correcting us.

Does this sound like the spiritual leadership we have today? Selah

Listen to this warning from Christ:

Matthew 7:22-23

On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’

But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

Read and understand what will matter on that day!

So, how many spiritual leaders do we have today? Many are recognized by humans here and may even pull a large followership, yet the heavens do not recognize them.

Next, is to live in peace with one another:

1 Thessalonians 5:13b

And live peacefully with each other.

Are you a trouble maker, do you always like an atmosphere of discord, then you do not have the Spirit.

Next, we are asked to caution those who are lazy:

1 Thessalonians 5:14a

Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. 

I have said it, even from my time as a youth leader "the Lord does not deal with lazy people"

See, some entered into ministry in order to avoid working, what they do not understand is that even our early missioners starting from the apostles, worked, YES, secular work. Paul says that they will not become burdens on people:

1 Corinthians 4:2,12

Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.

We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us.

See, no lazy person has a business working for the Lord. Hope is not lost, laziness can be unclothed from anyone who is willing.

Next, we must not confuse the lazy ones with those who are weak or timid, these ones must be encouraged and helped.

1 Thessalonians 5:14b

Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.

Next, avoid vengeance, and while you are at it, do good, that is your nature as a believer.

1 Thessalonians 5:15

See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.

We have talked on this again and again, your character as a believer is to do good. People's actions shouldn't define you but you show forth what you carry on the inside - the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23.

Next, 

1 Thessalonians 5:16

Always be joyful.

Remember that it is not your environment that determines your joy, your joy comes from your inside where God's Spirit dwells.

So no one can take/steal your joy for:

Nehemiah 8:10c

Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”

Romans 14:17

For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Glory to God.

Next, will be continued.

So check yourself, you are a spiritual leader in your own sphere, are you doing it right? As a brethren do you have true spiritual leadership? 

Your assured leadership is Christ Himself by His Spirit, you must always be in tune with the Spirit, your leader should help you do so more, not draw you away to focus on him/her.

We will get it right, we will live well and in the end we will be welcome to be with the Lord forever.

Blessed is the name of the Lord forever.

He calls us blessed.

Love

@the watcher