Freedom House Church and Healing Centre

Greetings family of God,

What a glorious season we are in - a weekend full of sunshine with plants and trees of all kinds bursting with life! What an incredible God we serve! He is creative and majestic, His splendor on display for all to see! The Apostle Paul writes, “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God” (Rom. 1:20 NLT). God is knowable! He wants us to know Him. One of the ways He draws people to Himself is by His beautiful creation.

Another way is through His church. As the Apostle Peter says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light” (1Peter 2:9 NIV). We are God’s masterpiece, His new creation, put on display to for the whole world to see, to draw people to God. Peter says that we are living stones, a spiritual house, a glorious temple for God to dwell in (1Pet. 2:5). The church is God’s newly created dwelling place, intended to reflect Him to the world (1Corinth. 3:16). Jesus said that our presence would cause people to glorify God (Matt. 5:14-16). The Church, that is the true believers, not the institution, lives to declare God!

So, our mission is clear! Now, let’s get back to the book of 1Thessalonians. We are in chapter 5. Can I encourage you to pause and read the whole chapter right now. The church at Thessalonica was a young church, full of new believers, yet had a certain level of maturity due to the hardship they were facing. Trials grow you up quickly. There is probably no better way to become mature in the Lord than by experiencing His presence and power as we encounter the difficulties of life, learning to lean on Him and His word. This church lived in the reality that Jesus could come back any moment, so they had to be ready. It is not surprising then that the close of this letter would be full of very practical instructions on living life to make it to the finish line, all the while being a church that reflects the glory of God. So we find that the Apostle Paul closes with a machine gun style list of commands on living life to be the church that fulfills its mission. Here they are very quickly:

• Be sober (vs. 8)
• Put on faith, love and hope (vs. 8)
• Encourage one another, and build each other up (vs. 11)
• Honor and respect your leaders (vs. 12-13)
• Live in peace with each other (vs. 13)
• Warn the lazy and disruptive (vs. 14)
• Encourage the weak (vs. 14)
• Be patient with everyone (vs. 14)
• Don’t pay back evil (vs. 15)
• Do good to everyone (vs. 15)
• Rejoice always (vs. 16)
• Pray continually (vs. 17)
• Give thanks for everything (vs. 18)
• Do not quench Holy Spirit (vs. 19)
• Do not mock prophecies (vs. 20)
• Test prophecies and heed the good ones (vs. 21)
• Reject all evil (vs.22)
• Pray for gospel workers (vs. 25)
• Greet all the saints with affection and love (vs. 26)
• Read “scripture” to each other” (vs. 27)

Brothers and sisters, this is not a recipe for a Sunday morning event. This is a mandate for a people that have been called out of the world to reflect the God who saved them and brought them into a glorious kingdom, who will soon meet that God! This is instruction from the Lord of the Church, even Holy Spirit on how to BE the church that Jesus died for. This is how the community of God, the followers of Jesus live life together. TOGETHER! We cannot fulfill the mandate on us if we just attend church on Sunday. We really need to be the church that reflects Creator God to the world, that lets our light shine for all to see. Don’t listen to the lie that, “I don’t need to go to church…I can do this on my own”. That’s anti-church mentality. The Christian life is lived in community – together we are God’s Holy temple, His beautiful garden, that reflects Him to the world. Can we meditate on the above list this week, and allow Holy Spirit to work in our hearts? Each item in the list can be a sermon in itself. If you want to really be transformed by the Word of God, get a Bible with notes and references, and spend some time meditating and studying each command listed. Let us be transformed by the renewing of the Word. And, let us be God’s new creation that truly reflects Him to a dying and broken world.

23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. (5:23-24)

Have a blessed week!