CALL TO CONFESSION

Romans 8:26-27

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Heavenly Father, teach us to love prayer. Help us to live before you in public and private, at church and at home, with every moment covered by Christ’s atoning blood. You invite us to bring you all our burdens. Draw us by your Spirit, lest our minds wander and our anxieties rule over us.

We praise you that where sin abounds, your grace abounds more, for we are great sinners. We seldom desire to pray, and when we do, our prayers are often selfish and insincere. We confess our ignorance in how to pray and our pride in praying with cold hearts. Yet we rest in Jesus, trusting his righteousness to cover our sins and satisfy your justice. Where our guilt is great, your mercy is greater.

Holy Spirit, teach us the joy of our Savior’s love, the relief of repentance, and the privilege of being your children. Awaken our hearts with thanksgiving and strengthen us to obey you. Give us faith that trusts your power and generosity beyond all we could ask or imagine. Make us persistent in prayer, until Christ is the center of all our hopes and longings. In his name we pray, amen.

“Take a few moments to personally confess your sins to the Lord.”

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

“Hear these words of comfort and assurance.” 

Romans 16:25-27

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

• Some of you have a generator in your garage or shed that you probably haven’t thought much about.
• But if a storm came through and the power went out, suddenly that generator is one of the most important things you own. 
• And when the power comes back on, the generator goes right back into the corner of the garage until the next event requiring its service. 

• For too many Christians, that is what prayer is. It is a generator wheeled out in emergencies. When things go wrong, we pull the cord and pray with urgency. And when things settle down, prayer goes right back into the corner. 

• But a tree doesn’t go looking for water only when a rainstorm comes. 
• Over the past few weeks we have used trees and roots as images of the Christian life and the church. Trees that stood strong through fierce storms because their roots went deep, trees that looked dead in winter but were alive beneath the surface. 
• And here is something else we can say about trees, their roots never take a day off. Day and night, in good weather and bad, the roots underground keep drawing water and nourishment from the soil. 
• You never see it happen, but it’s happening. And the moment it stops, the tree begins to die. 

• The kind of prayer Paul talks about in our passage today is like a tree’s root in the ground; not like a generator collecting dust and spider webs. 
• As we come to the end of the letter, Paul packs a lot into these last verses. It would be easy to see this as just a task list with lots of things to do. 
• But what I want you to see is that nestled at the center of the list is this: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 

• The whole letter is soaked in prayer, from beginning to end. He opens his letter by telling them he prays for them constantly (1:2). In chapter 3 he says he prays for them night and day…most earnestly (3:10), and then he breaks into a prayer right there in the letter (3:11-13). He ends the letter praying for them and requesting prayer from them.
• The man who tells them to pray without ceasing is a man who never ceases to pray.

• Here is our theme for today’s message: a church rooted in Christ is a praying church, because the God who calls us is faithful to finish his work. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

REJOICE ALWAYS

• Verse 16, “Rejoice always.”
• How can Paul command us to be joyful always? 
• We think of joy as something that happens to us; we’re impacted by something that makes us joyful.
• But you can’t order someone to be happy because Christian joy is not the same as happiness. 
• Happiness depends on what happens. Joy depends on whom we have. 
• “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil. 4:4). That’s even more specific. The Lord does not change, so joy in him can be constant. It doesn’t have to come and go with our circumstances. 

• Paul is writing to a group of young believers in a recently formed church in a hostile city. From the very beginning they “received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit” (1:6). 
• There Paul puts affliction and joy in the same sentence. They had been persecuted and had buried some of their members. And Paul still says to them, “Rejoice always.” 
• They don’t have to pretend to be joyful. He is telling them that there is joy deeper than their pain because it is rooted in Christ, who cannot be taken from them. 

PRAY WITHOUT CEASING

• Then Paul commands them, “Pray without ceasing.” The Greek word was used for things that keep coming back. The sense is something that continually reoccurs. 
• He doesn’t mean that they should pray one long, uninterrupted prayer. He means prayer that keeps returning, over and over, all day long. 
• Earlier in the letter, Paul says he mentions them “constantly” in prayer, and he thanks God “constantly” for them. It’s the same Greek word. 
• He is asking them to do what he himself does.

• Paul is not suggesting that you must be speaking words to God every waking moment of the day. 
• What he is saying is that your whole manner of life should be one in which you are always ready to turn to God. 
• You pray in the morning, you pray at night, and in between you breathe hundreds of short prayers throughout the day. “Lord, help me.” “Father, thank you.”
• It can start before your feet hit the floor: “Thank you, Lord, for this day.”
• Your smartphone buzzes all day, asking for your attention. What if every time you reached for it, you first sent up a one-line prayer? 

• But also notice that these commands are plural. The “you” means all of them together.  “Rejoice always, all of you.” “Pray, all of you, without ceasing.” “Give thanks, all of you.” 
• This isn’t just about your private prayer life, though that is also in view here.  It is about a church that prays. A church whose life is shaped by prayer. 
• Illustration: Charles Spurgeon’s church, the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. The "heating plant" of the church was its life of corporate prayer.
• The warmth and power of a church come when its people pray. 

GIVE THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES

• Then Paul says, “Give thanks in all circumstances.”
• Pay careful attention: he does not say, “Give thanks FOR all circumstances.” But “IN all circumstances.” 
• You don’t thank God for the bad diagnosis or the death of a loved one. But you know that even in the middle of those circumstances, there is always something to thank him for.

• Matthew Henry, the well-known Bible commentator, was robbed one day. It is said that he wrote in his diary something like this: “Let me be thankful, first, because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took all I had, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, and not I who robbed.”
• Now that’s an example of giving thanks in all circumstances. He didn’t pretend that the robbery was something good that happened to him, but he found reasons for thanks right in the middle of it. 

• When Paul describes the root of human rebellion in Romans 1, he says that people “knew God” but “did not honor him as God or give thanks to him” (Rom. 1:21). 
• Ingratitude is not a small sin. It stems from a heart that believes “I don’t owe anyone.” 
• But the thankful heart says, “Every good thing I have came from God’s hand. And everything that happens to me in God’s providence, he will work together for my good.” 
• Cultivate the habit of expressing gratitude and thanksgiving in your walk with the Lord. 

THIS IS GOD’S WILL IN CHRIST JESUS

• And then Paul adds, “for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 
• Two weeks ago, we read 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification.” Here he says these things are God’s will too.  
• Put side by side, they answer the question that many Christians ask: “What is God’s will for my life?” 
• We usually want to know about that in major life decisions. But God has already told us the most important thing to know about his will. 
• His will is that you be holy. His will is that you rejoice, pray, and give thanks always. 
• If you are doing those things, you are in the center of God’s will, wherever you live and whatever job you have.

• The little phrase “in Christ Jesus” is important. This life of joy and prayer and thanksgiving is not something you can produce by trying harder in those areas. 
• It is God’s will in Christ Jesus. It is only because we are united to Christ that we can come to God at all. 
• The writer of Hebrews tells us that because we have a great high priest, Jesus, the Son of God, we can “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace” (Heb. 4:14-16). 
• We pray in Jesus’ name because he is the only reason our prayers are welcome and heard by the Father. 
• Without Christ, the throne of God is a throne of judgment.  In Christ, it is a throne of grace. 

• We have fallen short in all of this. None of us has rejoiced always, prayed without ceasing, and given thanks in everything. 
• Our prayer lives are weak and sporadic. We complain more than we give thanks. 
• But there is one person who did all of this perfectly. 
• Jesus rose early in the morning and withdrew to desolate places to pray. 
• He gave thanks to the Father in all circumstances. On the cross, he prayed to the Father. 
• Jesus is the only one who truly prays without ceasing. He “always lives to make intercession” for his people. 
• And when you are joined to him by faith, his perfect faith, his perfect prayer life, are counted as yours. And his Spirit teaches you to pray. 

1 Thessalonians 5:12-15, 19-22

• Now, let’s look at the commands surrounding verses 16-18. If prayer is the rhythm of the church’s life, here are some of the results. A church that is constantly turning to God together is a church where love, peace, and wisdom start to grow. You can’t produce these kinds of results by working harder at them. They grow out of a life of dependence on God. 

HONORING

• Verse 12, the word “respect” literally means “know” or “see.” Paul is saying, “Recognize them. Know who they are, and value what they do.” Then he describes these leaders.
• First, they ‘labor.’ The word he uses here means to work to the point of weariness. Faithful shepherds work hard and get tired.
• Second, they are ‘over you in the Lord.’ It means that they lead, they stand before. But in the New Testament it also carries the idea of caring for someone. Leadership in the church is not about rank. It is about care. And notice the phrase, “in the Lord.” Elders are not over you because they are more important. They serve under Christ, who is the Chief Shepherd.
• Third, they ‘admonish you.’ They warn, correct, and counsel. It’s not always pleasant to be admonished. But a shepherd who never warns the sheep is not loving them. 

• He adds, “esteem them very highly in love because of their work.” 
• “Very highly” is like saying, ‘beyond all measure.’ Why is he asking them to love their leaders beyond all measure? Because of the work God has given them to do. 
• The best way you can honor your elders is to pray for them. And the best way your elders can serve you is to pray for you and teach you God’s word. 

CARING

• Verse 13b, “Be at peace among yourselves.” Peace in a church doesn’t happen by accident. It has to be kept, protected, preserved, and prayed for. 
• Paul will soon call God “the God of peace.” A church that knows the God of peace is a church that pursues peace with one another. Its members live in harmony with each other. They reconcile quickly when there is conflict or when one sins against another. 

• Verse 14, “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.” 
• This isn’t only the pastor’s responsibility. This is the whole church’s responsibility. Caring for one another is every member’s job.  
• Paul names three different types of people who need the care of others and gives them each a different response, a different way for them to be helped. 
• The idle need to be admonished. The word used for ‘idle’ was a military word for a soldier who was out of rank, out of step with the rest of the troops. Some people need a loving but firm word.  
• The fainthearted need to be encouraged. These are those who are discouraged and losing heart, they’re easily overwhelmed. They don’t need a rebuke. They need someone to come alongside them and say, “Take heart. The Lord is with you.” 
• The weak need to be helped. These may be the people who are weak in faith, in body, in conscience, or in their struggle against sin. They need someone to hold them up. 

• A loving church learns to give the right word to the right person at the right time. And how do you know what word someone needs from you? You pray. You ask God for wisdom. A praying church becomes a discerning church that knows how to help one another. 

• And then he adds, “be patient with them all.” Why does he say that? 
• Because people change slowly. And God has been very patient with us. He is merciful and gracious and slow to anger. And you and I should be patient and slow to anger with one another. 

• Verse 15, This is a persecuted church that had every reason to want to get even with those who maligned and slandered them. But Paul says, “See that no one repays anyone evil for evil,” and applies inside the church and outside it. 
• “Always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.” Always,’ is the same word as in the command to ‘rejoice always.’ The church that is always rejoicing in God is the church that can always seek good, even for its enemies. 
• Prayer enables this posture. Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). 
• It is very hard to hate someone you are honestly praying for. 

RECEIVING AND TESTING

• Look at verses 19-22. “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything.” 
• To “quench” means to put out, like putting out a fire. The Holy Spirit is often pictured as fire in Scripture. At Pentecost, the Spirit came with tongues “as of fire” (Acts 2:3). Paul is saying in essence, “Don’t throw water on what the Spirit is doing among you.” 
• How would they do that? By despising prophecies. In the early church, before the New Testament canon was complete, God gave prophecy to build up the church ( 1 Cor. 14:3). We believe that the foundational gifts of apostles and prophets have done their work, and that God now speaks to his church through the completed Scriptures. 
• But the principle here still applies directly to us. When God’s word is opened and preached, don’t despise it.
• That is how a church quenches the Spirit. The Spirit works through the word. When we treat the word lightly, we put out the fire. 

• And Paul doesn’t want them to be gullible. Prophecies should be tested. “Test everything.” It’s the word used for testing gold to see if it is real. 
• The church is to test every message. Like the Bereans, who “received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11).  We need to do the same thing.
• Many of us hear a hundred voices a day all telling us what is true, from podcasts, feeds, and friends. Test them all by God’s word. 
• Then “hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” After you test it, keep the gold and throw out the junk.
• Hold on tightly to what is true and good. Stay away from every kind of evil. 

• These aren’t random instructions. They fit together. A praying church honors its leaders, keeps the peace, cares for its weakest members, refuses to retaliate, listens eagerly to God’s word, and tests everything by it. 
• That is a lot of fruit resulting from the corporate life of prayer. 

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

PAUL’S PRAYER 

• Paul prays, “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely…”
• Notice the word “himself.” Paul has just given the church a long list of things to do.  Now he turns the focus away from them and onto God.  God himself will do it.
• Sanctification is a work God commands us to pursue, and it is a work God himself accomplishes in us. 
• “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (that’s our part), for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (that’s God’s part) (Phil. 2:12-13).

• He is the “God of peace.” He just told them to “be at peace among yourselves.” 
• Where does that peace come from? From the God of peace. 
• He made peace with sinners “by the blood of his cross” (Col. 1:20).
• We can be at peace with one another because God has made peace with us. 

• And Paul prays that God would sanctify them “completely.” That holiness would permeate them through and through. 
• Then he says, “May your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless.” 
• God doesn’t want only your Sunday mornings. He doesn’t want only your soul while you do whatever you want with your body. 
• He wants you to control your body “in holiness and honor.” (4:4)

• And Paul’s prayer-wish is that they would “be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 
• So much of this letter has to do with the return of Christ. Every chapter closes with the return of Christ. That is our hope. 
• On the day Jesus comes, God will present his people blameless. Not because of anything they have done to be blamelessness, but because God himself kept them. 
• The God who commands holiness is the God who gives it.

GOD’S PROMISE

• Verse 24 is one of the most amazing promises in Scripture: “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” 
• Paul just prayed and now he tells them why he is confident God will answer. It’s because God is faithful! 
• Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
• The one who called you at the beginning is the same one who will finish the work and see it through all the way to the end. 

• And that is why we pray. Prayer is not us trying to talk God into something he doesn’t want to do. Prayer is God’s children asking their faithful Father to do what he has promised. We pray with confidence because he is faithful. 
• That is the root of a praying church. The roots go down into the faithfulness of God. 
• Maybe you’re realizing your prayer life isn’t a root at all. It’s barely a generator. Hear verse 24 again. Your standing with God has never rested on how well you pray. It rests on Christ, who always lives to intercede for you. 
• Even when you don’t know what to say, “The Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Rom. 8:26). So start small, and start today. “Lord, help me pray.” 

PRAY FOR US

• Verse 25, Paul himself asks for their prayers. “Brothers, pray for us.”  The great apostle of the Lord never thought of himself as being above the need for prayer. A praying church prays for its leaders, and wise leaders ask for prayer. 
• His final charge to them is to maintain the warmth of the fellowship. “Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.” That was a normal greeting between family members. The church is God’s family. A praying church is a warm family, not a room full of strangers. 

• He puts them under oath to have this letter read to all the brothers. Why such a strong charge? Because this letter is not Paul’s opinions. It is the word of God and it must be read to all the brothers. Not just the leaders and the mature, but everyone.  

• Just as the letter began with grace, its final word is grace. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” Everything between those two words, every command and every encouragement, is held inside the grace of Jesus Christ. That is the whole of the Christian life. It begins with grace and ends with grace. 

CONCLUSION

• I said at the beginning that a tree doesn’t pull water from the ground only when a rainstorm is coming. It draws water and nourishment day and night, unseen. And because it does, when the storm comes, it stands. When winter comes, it lives. When spring comes, it bears fruit. 
• That is the kind of church God is calling us to be. We don’t want to be a church that has to pull the generator out of the garage. We want to be a church with roots in the ground. A church that rejoices always, prays without ceasing, and gives thanks in everything. A church where that prayer grows into honor, peace, patience, and love for those inside and outside. 
• And underneath it all, a church that is resting on this promise: “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” 

• Let me close with a call. 
• First, examine yourself. Is prayer a root in your life, or a generator stored in the garage? 
• Second, repent of prayerlessness and ingratitude. Name it before God. Don’t excuse it. 
• Third, rest in Christ. Our Lord prays for you without ceasing, and his faithful Father will surely finish his work in you. 
• Fourth, take one step this week. Set a daily time to pray. Write down three things you are thankful for each day. Pick one person from verse 14, one idle, fainthearted, or weak brother or sister, and pray for them by name, then reach out to them. And pray for your pastors. 

• “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” 

APPLICATION AND REFLECTION

In light of today's message....

• What did I learn about the gospel?
• How can I apply what I learned about the gospel to my life?
• With whom can I share the gospel this week?