"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians v. 16 - 18)
I have overheard or been part of several conversations on this verse and have found that there are more Christians making excuses as to why they cannot actually apply the commands it contains, than those believing that God meant what He said and has made it possible for us to obey. Many Christians are actually convinced that they can't rejoice, or give thanks, in every circumstance. Surely, God must understand that some situations just don't lend themselves to that sort of attitude!
We also tend to stumble on the part about praying without ceasing. Our common sense tells us that is quite simply impossible. A person can pray a lot, but if they prayed always they could never get anything else done! If we moderate these expectations the spiritual walk of the Christian suddenly becomes a whole lot easier. Or does it? At the end of the verse we read, 'this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you' and that should cause us to pause. If these commands really are the very will of God for our lives, as His word states, then how can we write them off?
We also tend to stumble on the part about praying without ceasing. Our common sense tells us that is quite simply impossible. A person can pray a lot, but if they prayed always they could never get anything else done! If we moderate these expectations the spiritual walk of the Christian suddenly becomes a whole lot easier. Or does it? At the end of the verse we read, 'this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you' and that should cause us to pause. If these commands really are the very will of God for our lives, as His word states, then how can we write them off?
I will always remember a time when my Sunday School teacher said that Jesus' command to "be perfect as I am perfect" (Matthew v.48) meant to 'be mature'. The little girl who had been told that God's word was completely accurate and should never be changed kept thinking, when He said be perfect as I am perfect, He meant be perfect as I am perfect! Being mature isn't the same thing. When I got a bit older I put that interpretation of the verse on trial. What I found was that it wasn't only in Matthew v.48 that God gave His people such a command. All the way back in Leviticus He said, "consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy." (Leviticus xi.44) and "be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy." (Leviticus xix.2). As I continued to cross reference I found that the books of Philippians and James also taught that Christians should be perfect and that Peter quoted the phrase 'be holy, because He is holy', in 1 Peter 1:15-16. When God repeats something in His word, and especially if He does so several times, it is because He wants us to take note of it. It's something that He really wants us to pay attention to and understand. In the same way as I would use an italic or bold font to make a word or statement stand out to you, God puts emphasis on a point by repeating it. In none of these references can the word mature be considered to be a viable substitute for perfect or holy. So the Sunday School lesson was wrong - Jesus didn't mean be mature, He actually meant to be perfect, as He is perfect. In the teacher's defence, that would have been a more complicated lesson to teach to second and third graders. But I am convinced, that the class would have been better off going away a little confused than totally misinformed. So would each of us when it comes to 1 Thessalonians v.16 -18 and other verses like it.
Let's put this command to 'pray without ceasing' to the same test as I did with Matthew v.48. It happens that this command too appears in God's word in more than one place. In Luke xviii.1 for example, Jesus told His disciples a parable in order to teach them that "men ought always to pray and never to lose heart" and in Ephesians vi. 18 Paul instructs Christians to, “pray at all times...with all perseverance”. The words always, at all times, and without ceasing are clearly not synonymous with words like often or frequently. In addition to this, Paul talks about himself and other Christians actually putting this command into practice in Colossians i.9. He writes to the Colossians that, "[they] have not ceased to pray for [them]." We, therefore, have to deduce that it is His will for you and I not only to pray, but to pray without ceasing. This also applies to the other two commands. God doesn't just want His children to rejoice, but to do so always, and He doesn't only ask us to give thanks in some situations, but in all of them. This is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
When we allow ourselves to make excuses or to question if God really meant what is said in His word we are allowing ourselves to be misled by a deception that is as old as sin itself! Do you recall the first words that the devil said to Eve on that fateful day in the Garden of Eden? He asked,
"Did God really say...?" His intention was to alter the meaning of God's words by just a little bit. That little change was all that was necessary because Eve wanted to believe the moderated command. In the same way that it is for us, it was easier for her to compromise than to hold fast to God's word. Eve's answer should have been something more like:
"Yes actually, He did say that!"
That is what our response to the temptation to change God's words should be as well. The temptation to compromise on these particular commands comes from the belief that they are impossible to fulfil. Knowing that God does wants us to do them doesn't make them any less impossible. Or does it? Jesus said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew xix. 26) So here is where faith comes in. We are not commissioned to believe in ourselves. For, as we have feared and as Jesus told us Himself, with man this is impossible. However, whenever God Almighty is involved we should expect to find that very important conjunction. The one that tells us He isn't done; that God hasn't left us with three impossible commands. The 'very important conjunction' is but. "With man it is impossible but with God all things are possible." Did you know that the same statement is hidden in 1 Thessalonians v. 16 - 18? At the end of verse eighteen Paul does not say, "this is the will of God for you." Instead he wrote, "this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." That is a very important difference. With God all things are indeed possible and in Christ Jesus we can actually rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in every situation!
That is what our response to the temptation to change God's words should be as well. The temptation to compromise on these particular commands comes from the belief that they are impossible to fulfil. Knowing that God does wants us to do them doesn't make them any less impossible. Or does it? Jesus said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew xix. 26) So here is where faith comes in. We are not commissioned to believe in ourselves. For, as we have feared and as Jesus told us Himself, with man this is impossible. However, whenever God Almighty is involved we should expect to find that very important conjunction. The one that tells us He isn't done; that God hasn't left us with three impossible commands. The 'very important conjunction' is but. "With man it is impossible but with God all things are possible." Did you know that the same statement is hidden in 1 Thessalonians v. 16 - 18? At the end of verse eighteen Paul does not say, "this is the will of God for you." Instead he wrote, "this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." That is a very important difference. With God all things are indeed possible and in Christ Jesus we can actually rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in every situation!
So here's the challenge, what if, instead of making excuses when we get to verses like 1 Thessalonians v.16 - 18, we tried to apply God's commands in faith? What would the result of that be? Throughout history we find many examples of men and woman who did just that. Through faith they accomplished the tasks that we generally write off as impossible and in so doing they changed the lives of those around them and brought glory to their King.
"Who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens." (Hebrews xi. 33-34)
Whenever men and woman have refused to compromise, question God's word, or make excuses the result has always proved to be incredible. I want to share one of those stories with you today. One that pertains to one of the specific commands we have been discussing. This story can be found in the testimony of a man who has come to be called Watchman Nee.
"Who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens." (Hebrews xi. 33-34)
Whenever men and woman have refused to compromise, question God's word, or make excuses the result has always proved to be incredible. I want to share one of those stories with you today. One that pertains to one of the specific commands we have been discussing. This story can be found in the testimony of a man who has come to be called Watchman Nee.
*Nee Shu-tsu was a third generation Christian. His mother, much like Hannah the mother of the prophet Samuel, had prayed to the Lord to give her a son. She had promised God that, if He gave her a son, she would present the child to Him. Through his childhood, Nee's parents constantly reminded him of this dedication but it was not until he was seventeen that Nee made the decision to give himself to the Lord.
“From the evening I was saved, I began to live a new life, for the life of the eternal God had entered into me.” Nee later recorded. It was not long after this transformation that our story takes place, for the new Christian immediately started to put right the matters of his soul.
"I also made a list of seventy friends to pray for daily. Some days I would pray for them every hour, even in class. When the opportunity came, I would try to persuade them to believe in the Lord Jesus... With the Lord's grace I continued to pray daily, and after several months all but one of the seventy persons were saved." — Watchman Nee, Watchman Nee's Testimony.
Through one man's diligence to pray, sixty-nine souls were eternally rescued through the course of a single year! Nee prayed for his friends every day and sometimes every hour, and even that regiment doesn't meet the fullness of the command to pray without ceasing. Yet look at how much his obedience accomplished! In his words, "with the Lord's grace", Nee reminds us again of the crucial factor that made this work possible. We cannot forget that the power to fulfil these and all such commands comes from God and yet we are told that it is His will for us to do them in Christ Jesus. Therefore, instead of being discouraged by the things we deem to be impossible let’s find in them opportunities to see our God at work!
In Christ
quiana
*Facts on the life of Watchman Nee were taken from a website dedicated to his memory.
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