Brother Gary Sunday Evening 9/22/13

Brother Gary Sunday Evening 9/22/13

1Th 4:1  Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

Sister Davis had a definite talent, gift, or unction to exhort.  I believe that it would be good for us as the saints to ask God to help us to have the spirit of exhortation. 

Exhortation means to make an expression, “I have something that I really want to talk to you about.”  Any of you that come by and see our dead tomato plants and have an exhortation, “I want to tell you something about tomatoes.” we want to hear about it.

Deer have been enjoying our garden.  There is something a whole lot more important than if you are hunting and someone knows where they have seen some nice whatever you are hunting for.  I want to be exhorted and easily entreated as to how I might possess my vessel in sanctification and honor.

We want to go past just the thought of, “I am sanctified.”  We want to go as far as we can. 

When someone comes, “I have something that I want to exhort you with.”  It is the thought of, “Because of love, care and concern I want to exhort you on this line.”

Paul wanted to exhort them by the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Th 4:2  For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.

1Th 4:3  For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:

1Th 4:4  That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

It doesn’t matter what the flesh of an individual would be drawn to.  Some would be drawn to pleasures.  Pleasures choke the Word of God.  The love of money and riches choke the Word of God. 

Someone was talking to me recently and told me that they were a people pleaser and it was a challenge to them.  They never wanted to make people feel bad but wanted them to pat them on the back.  God wants you saved, sanctified and to get the victory over wanting the good will of everyone.  We don’t want to aggravate everyone but it is a hindrance to think, “If I’m modest what will people think of me, if I reach out to others what would someone think?”

1Th 4:5  Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:

1Th 4:6  That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

Lust of concupiscence: Professing to know God and being depraved and morally corrupt. 

It is important that we know how to receive a gift and be thankful for it.  It is also important that if Brother Rick has a guitar you want or Brother Jim has a beef that we don’t have an attitude, “I’m going to poor mouth him and see if I can get it for half what it is worth.” 

You don’t want to do that, that is defrauding your brother.  You have worked hard for what you have.  We don’t want to poor mouth anyone out of anything.

1Th 4:7  For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

It is wonderful that we have been called into holiness.  The bible teaches a true holiness.  There are some holiness groups and their thought is, “We are holiness because we teach being free of the carnal man and if you are really sanctified and holy then your hair will be a certain way and you will shop at the second or third hand stores.”  That is not true holiness. 

Measuring to the standard is not a problem.  It is modesty for all, brothers and sisters alike.  We need to have respect for those that helped us to get where we are.  When I realize where I could have been to show a little respect to dress in a modest way is no problem.  I am modest all the time; I wouldn’t be out there picking pears in a tank top.  Yet that is not my holiness.

Holiness is in the heart and then it comes out in our life.  There is a true holiness and a false holiness.  Some of the Pentecostal holiness groups say the way you know you have holiness is if you can speak in tongues.  That is false.

1Th 4:8  He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

1Th 4:9  But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

There is something that goes even past the natural brotherly love when we are saved. 

1Th 4:10  And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;

1Th 4:11  And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;

When you feel your heart roaring, and your soul disquieted then study to be quiet.  Have you ever felt your soul roaring and you prayed and then you felt your soul roaring again?  Oh yes.  What did you do? I prayed again.  And sometimes I needed to pray again.  The same with the little cloud that Elijah prayed for.  He prayed and then he prayed again. And then God sent the little cloud.

We are in a great business working for God and studying the Word of God.  In the fall time you either need to have the business of sewing winter wheat or reaping spring wheat.  I want to do both.  Don’t you?  I hope I sowed some seed this spring that needs to be harvested this fall.

I want to sow some seed this fall.  I hope to see some wheat harvested. 

To work with his own hands:  stay busy.  Keep your hands busy. 

1Th 4:12  That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

1Th 5:14  Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.

We live in a nation that is full of rebellious people.  They are going to smoke and drink even though they know what it is going to do to their body.  I don’t know any rebellious people that are not on a fight.  When you even get close to them they begin to put up a wall.

Comfort the feeble minded:  this is a great challenge in our world today.  Feeble minded people have been given liberties in our world that if you did what they do you would be locked up.  It is tough to try to comfort the feeble minded.

Support the weak.  God can help you to turn them so they can see their weakness from a different angle and God can help them.  When I help people that are weak in the thought that they are self centered and when something goes wrong in their life then that is all they can think about.  God has helped me to learn to turn them, “You are blessed.  Isn’t it wonderful that you are still able to live on your own.”

1Th 5:15  See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.

1Th 5:16  Rejoice evermore.

We are having a lot of challenges teaching our grandsons to play with our granddaughter.  She would find it nice to be in the middle of whatever they are doing.  She even sits on the little train track that they are playing with.  We say, “be nice to Sophie.”  It is important also that  Sophie be nice to them.

1Th 5:17  Pray without ceasing.

1Th 5:18  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

1Th 5:19  Quench not the Spirit.

This is possessing our vessel in sanctification and honor.  May God help me, you, and us to become very keen to know when the Holy Spirit is speaking to us.  There will be times in your life when you wonder, “Should I warn them or not.” 

Is it just my personal thing that I want to say, “I just want to warn you, be careful?”  This is the reason that we need to know when it is the Holy Spirit speaking.

We need to know in the natural when the Holy Spirit wants us to exhort.  Then in the proper manner, say, “Be careful.  I’m saying this because I care.”  There are things that can be forgiven but a life will be scarred forever.

Us parents have and had a great responsibility.  For some of us that part of our journey is over except we are trying to figure out how to parent these children that are trying to parent us.  We have grandchildren and we older are trying to teach the younger but we need to know how to do it. 

1Th 5:20  Despise not prophesyings.

1Th 5:21  Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

Don’t jump on anyone’s bandwagon.  If someone brings something to you the Bible says to prove all things.

1Th 5:22  Abstain from all appearance of evil.

1Th 5:23  And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1Th 5:24  Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

1Th 5:25  Brethren, pray for us.

1Th 5:26  Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss.