WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:02.259 I'm just looking out here and wondering what 00:00:02.259 --> 00:00:06.759 a Pharisee looks like. Got some candidates for 00:00:06.759 --> 00:00:09.199 you. No, I better not point. We've got some candidates, 00:00:09.460 --> 00:00:13.660 though, and we'll see if we can enlist them. 00:00:16.679 --> 00:00:20.480 The kind of thinking that we call isolationism 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:26.679 has been around since the Garden of Eden. When 00:00:26.679 --> 00:00:30.379 Cain responded to God's question, about Abel 00:00:30.379 --> 00:00:36.359 by saying, am I my brother's keeper? Isolationism, 00:00:36.460 --> 00:00:39.240 the idea that a nation ought not to take part 00:00:39.240 --> 00:00:44.259 in international alliances, seems to be reflected 00:00:44.259 --> 00:00:46.820 in some of the rhetoric of war protesters these 00:00:46.820 --> 00:00:50.140 days. They seem to be saying that the United 00:00:50.140 --> 00:00:53.880 States has no compelling interests in affairs 00:00:53.880 --> 00:00:57.899 in other parts of the world. that we ought to 00:00:57.899 --> 00:01:01.479 use our resources for ourselves and let others 00:01:01.479 --> 00:01:04.640 use their resources and take care of themselves. 00:01:05.459 --> 00:01:09.680 Am I my brother's keeper seems to be the essence 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:15.700 of what they're saying. That same sort of thinking 00:01:15.700 --> 00:01:19.760 too easily creeps into the minds of Christians 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:24.859 regarding our duty to others. We hear people 00:01:24.859 --> 00:01:29.060 say things like It's none of my concern. I have 00:01:29.060 --> 00:01:33.120 enough troubles of my own to worry about. Or, 00:01:33.579 --> 00:01:38.579 I don't have time to get involved. Or we might 00:01:38.579 --> 00:01:41.959 hear, well he got himself into it, let him get 00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:46.599 himself out of it. Not that such statements are 00:01:46.599 --> 00:01:51.060 always wrong, but they can reveal an attitude 00:01:51.060 --> 00:01:55.540 that basically says, I'm not interested. in others' 00:01:56.420 --> 00:02:00.239 problems. I have no responsibility for them. 00:02:02.920 --> 00:02:10.379 Are we our brother's keeper? In fact, we are. 00:02:11.800 --> 00:02:16.960 Not in some meddlesome or domineering way, or 00:02:16.960 --> 00:02:20.219 in a way in which we ourselves become exploited 00:02:20.219 --> 00:02:25.159 or manipulated. But, in a healthy and godly sense, 00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:31.060 we are our brother's keeper. We have a duty toward 00:02:31.060 --> 00:02:35.360 others, whether inside God's family or outside, 00:02:36.900 --> 00:02:41.919 to do them good. Our text today in 1 Thessalonians 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:49.259 5 verses 14 and 15 gives us a series of imperative 00:02:49.259 --> 00:02:53.740 statements. which fleshes out some of our duty 00:02:53.740 --> 00:03:00.599 to others. In what ways ought we to be the keepers 00:03:00.599 --> 00:03:05.479 of our brothers? Well, it tells us in our text 00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:09.120 that we are in the first place to admonish the 00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:13.879 unruly. The word unruly is really a military 00:03:13.879 --> 00:03:19.180 term. It meant in that language that Paul used, 00:03:19.219 --> 00:03:24.800 the Greek language, not keeping in rank. It meant 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:28.439 to be disorderly or even to be insubordinate. 00:03:32.539 --> 00:03:36.759 I played in a high school band once upon a time, 00:03:37.080 --> 00:03:41.919 in another lifetime. And I remember being in 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:48.759 marches down the street. When it was a real challenge 00:03:48.759 --> 00:03:51.979 to play the tuba which was my instrument or more 00:03:51.979 --> 00:03:55.979 accurately the sousaphone Especially when the 00:03:55.979 --> 00:03:59.960 wind was blowing and catching that big bell and 00:03:59.960 --> 00:04:05.960 trying to stay in step and in line Normally I 00:04:05.960 --> 00:04:08.219 was all the way at the back of the band which 00:04:08.219 --> 00:04:11.360 helped a lot Because I could look up and see 00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:15.120 others in front of me that way But besides looking 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:19.399 at the music, which I rarely memorized, I also 00:04:19.399 --> 00:04:22.040 had to know which foot was going down when, and 00:04:22.040 --> 00:04:24.699 I had to keep one eye on the rest of my row to 00:04:24.699 --> 00:04:27.699 make sure that we were straight and in line. 00:04:28.680 --> 00:04:30.720 And believe me, there were many times when we 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:36.879 were unruly. When the Apostle Paul uses this 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:39.759 term, he may have a specific group in mind in 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:43.949 the church in Thessalonica. I think the NIV puts 00:04:43.949 --> 00:04:48.970 it, in fact, admonish the idol. Paul has, perhaps, 00:04:49.829 --> 00:04:52.769 some people in mind that he addresses more directly 00:04:52.769 --> 00:04:55.470 in the second letter that he wrote to the Thessalonians 00:04:55.470 --> 00:04:58.629 and the third chapter, where he uses the same 00:04:58.629 --> 00:05:03.490 term again, twice. In verse 6 of 2 Thessalonians 00:05:03.490 --> 00:05:05.709 3 he says, Now we command you, brethren, in the 00:05:05.709 --> 00:05:09.089 name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep 00:05:09.089 --> 00:05:13.290 aloof from every brother who leads and unruly 00:05:13.290 --> 00:05:17.069 life, and not according to the tradition which 00:05:17.069 --> 00:05:21.269 you receive from us. For you yourselves know 00:05:21.269 --> 00:05:23.850 how you ought to follow our example, because 00:05:23.850 --> 00:05:29.269 we did not act in an unruly, undisciplined manner 00:05:29.269 --> 00:05:32.389 among you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without 00:05:32.389 --> 00:05:35.870 paying for it. But with labor and hardship we 00:05:35.870 --> 00:05:38.470 kept working night and day so that we might not 00:05:38.470 --> 00:05:43.370 be a burden to any of you. Paul may have in mind 00:05:43.370 --> 00:05:46.550 a group of people in that church who apparently 00:05:46.550 --> 00:05:49.470 were neglectful of their responsibility to the 00:05:49.470 --> 00:05:53.790 body. They felt that they could live off of other 00:05:53.790 --> 00:05:56.430 people and not have to worry about the daily 00:05:56.430 --> 00:06:03.529 needs of bread. So the Apostle Paul writes to 00:06:03.529 --> 00:06:07.769 them and calls them unruly because they were 00:06:07.769 --> 00:06:10.779 idle. They shirked their responsibility, leaving 00:06:10.779 --> 00:06:14.160 it up to others to take care of them. They wanted 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:17.459 the benefits of being Christians without any 00:06:17.459 --> 00:06:24.680 of the burdens that come along with it. A Sunday 00:06:24.680 --> 00:06:27.879 school teacher was on one occasion desiring to 00:06:27.879 --> 00:06:32.180 impress upon her students the miracle of God 00:06:32.180 --> 00:06:36.279 in nature. And so she pointed to a large plant 00:06:36.279 --> 00:06:38.279 that was in the corner of the room and she asked 00:06:38.279 --> 00:06:41.620 her students, and who made those beautiful flowers 00:06:41.620 --> 00:06:45.899 to grow? And in one chorus the children all answered 00:06:45.899 --> 00:06:49.399 back, God did. Except for one little boy who 00:06:49.399 --> 00:06:51.939 was kind of the PS at the end of the response 00:06:51.939 --> 00:06:55.360 and he said, yeah, but the fertilizer sure helps. 00:06:58.629 --> 00:07:01.370 Sometimes we have the same idea. If God wants 00:07:01.370 --> 00:07:05.689 to take care of His church, He'll do it. But 00:07:05.689 --> 00:07:08.889 the fact is that God has given all of us a responsibility 00:07:08.889 --> 00:07:16.509 as well to be a part of meeting the needs of 00:07:16.509 --> 00:07:20.350 the church. And so the apostle writes to the 00:07:20.350 --> 00:07:22.649 church and he says, regarding these folks who 00:07:22.649 --> 00:07:26.379 want to To have the blessings without the burdens. 00:07:26.540 --> 00:07:29.060 Who want to shirk their responsibility in the 00:07:29.060 --> 00:07:33.259 work of God. He says admonish them. That's a 00:07:33.259 --> 00:07:35.920 very strong term actually. We saw it before in 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:42.079 verse 12. It means to warn. It means to sternly 00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:46.879 rebuke or even to discipline. Notice that in 00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:49.800 verse 12 it was a responsibility of the leaders 00:07:49.800 --> 00:07:53.579 of the church to do the warning. Whereas here 00:07:53.579 --> 00:07:57.199 it's the responsibility of all of us to do the 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:03.620 admonishing of those who are irresponsible. Every 00:08:03.620 --> 00:08:09.019 family, including God's family, has rules and 00:08:09.019 --> 00:08:15.980 expectations and ways in which it is to function. 00:08:17.399 --> 00:08:19.920 Our family has those kinds of things and I'm 00:08:19.920 --> 00:08:24.170 sure your family does too. The absence of those 00:08:24.170 --> 00:08:26.949 things absolutely brings chaos to a home and 00:08:26.949 --> 00:08:31.569 it leads to waste. Some of the ways we do things 00:08:31.569 --> 00:08:36.450 in God's family are biblical. Sometimes the ways 00:08:36.450 --> 00:08:41.210 we do them are cultural or practical. But the 00:08:41.210 --> 00:08:44.070 point is that the way that we as a body decide 00:08:44.070 --> 00:08:48.769 to operate and work together establish a standard 00:08:48.769 --> 00:08:54.799 of action for all of us. The practical application 00:08:54.799 --> 00:08:59.000 really of this particular phrase, admonish the 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:01.340 unruly, is well summarized, I think, by Chuck 00:09:01.340 --> 00:09:04.440 Swindoll in one of his writings when he says, 00:09:04.659 --> 00:09:07.860 even though it may hurt, there are occasions 00:09:07.860 --> 00:09:11.179 when Christians should be confronted and corrected 00:09:11.179 --> 00:09:14.879 with the truth. These times of admonition are 00:09:14.879 --> 00:09:17.779 needed when a fellow believer is unruly. That 00:09:17.779 --> 00:09:21.700 is, when he or she is undisciplined, disorderly, 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:25.600 and irresponsible in carrying out his or her 00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:29.379 Christian duty. As members of Christ's family, 00:09:29.559 --> 00:09:33.100 we are expected to behave ourselves by being 00:09:33.100 --> 00:09:35.919 where we ought to be and doing what we ought 00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:39.740 to do. When we become derelict in our Christian 00:09:39.740 --> 00:09:43.700 responsibilities, God calls on other members 00:09:43.700 --> 00:09:47.159 of his family. to confront us with this fact 00:09:47.159 --> 00:09:50.779 and to exhort us to resume fulfilling our Christian 00:09:50.779 --> 00:09:55.700 duty. Well stated. Did you know that there was 00:09:55.700 --> 00:09:58.559 a custom in the Roman army in days of old that 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:01.620 if anyone was caught deserting his post for any 00:10:01.620 --> 00:10:04.620 reason, for any amount of time, they would cut 00:10:04.620 --> 00:10:09.600 off his little finger? As a permanent reminder 00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:14.960 to be faithful in his responsibilities. One can 00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:17.539 only wonder if there was a similar penalty in 00:10:17.539 --> 00:10:20.600 the Church of Jesus Christ, how many of us would 00:10:20.600 --> 00:10:27.240 be minus a pinky? We have responsibilities and 00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:29.980 the Apostle says that you and I are to admonish 00:10:29.980 --> 00:10:34.340 each other to fulfill the responsibilities that 00:10:34.340 --> 00:10:39.139 God gives to us. That we're not to be among those 00:10:39.139 --> 00:10:42.789 who get out of step or out of rank. or who are 00:10:42.789 --> 00:10:49.490 insubordinate. If we are going to minister to 00:10:49.490 --> 00:10:54.370 others, we also need to encourage the fainthearted 00:10:54.370 --> 00:10:56.850 because there are many among God's family who 00:10:56.850 --> 00:11:01.309 are fainthearted. The word fainthearted means 00:11:01.309 --> 00:11:08.350 literally small -souled. Small -souled. It refers 00:11:08.350 --> 00:11:13.860 to someone whose spirit tends toward despondency. 00:11:16.120 --> 00:11:18.840 It's somebody who is easily worried or who is 00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:25.120 fearful. It refers to those who are easily overtaken 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:28.580 with discouragement or debilitated by anxiety. 00:11:29.740 --> 00:11:32.559 It can even refer to those who are prone toward 00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:39.340 physical or emotional frailty. He says that we 00:11:39.340 --> 00:11:44.980 are to comfort those who are fainthearted. We 00:11:44.980 --> 00:11:49.620 are to speak tenderly to them, to speak near 00:11:49.620 --> 00:11:53.240 is literally what he says. We are not to cup 00:11:53.240 --> 00:11:55.820 our hands around our voice and yell at them from 00:11:55.820 --> 00:11:59.639 a distance. We are to come close enough that 00:11:59.639 --> 00:12:05.039 we can whisper into their ear the kinds of encouraging 00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:10.490 words that they need. The same word is used in 00:12:10.490 --> 00:12:13.909 chapter 2 and verse 11 of this epistle, where 00:12:13.909 --> 00:12:17.649 the apostle says regarding fathers that they 00:12:17.649 --> 00:12:22.809 encourage their children, just as Paul encouraged 00:12:22.809 --> 00:12:29.289 the Thessalonians, a father sensing the upset 00:12:29.289 --> 00:12:33.840 in his child. will put his arm around that child 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:36.679 and draw the child aside and whisper words of 00:12:36.679 --> 00:12:40.500 encouragement in the ear. I had two sons who 00:12:40.500 --> 00:12:43.539 were badly beaten this weekend in basketball. 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:49.139 It's hard for a father to take, to sit on the 00:12:49.139 --> 00:12:51.659 sidelines and see the other team rack up the 00:12:51.659 --> 00:12:56.539 score without mercy. It's hard to listen to the 00:12:56.539 --> 00:13:00.159 coach of the other team smirk and laugh as he 00:12:59.980 --> 00:13:05.700 watches your son's team go down to defeat. There 00:13:05.700 --> 00:13:08.399 are certain unchristian thoughts that come to 00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:14.179 one's mind in times like that. But it's harder 00:13:14.179 --> 00:13:17.840 on the player. It's important to take that child 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:20.799 aside and say, hey, you know what? There's more 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:26.360 to it than winning the game. It's important to 00:13:26.360 --> 00:13:28.879 take that child inside and say, you really made 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:33.039 some terrific shots. And do things that will 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:35.440 lift up the spirit of the one who has become 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:39.799 faint -hearted. God's children are the same way. 00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:42.779 There are times when you and I experience defeats. 00:13:43.059 --> 00:13:45.940 And we go down in flames, as it were. And we 00:13:45.940 --> 00:13:48.539 need someone to come alongside us in those moments 00:13:48.539 --> 00:13:52.659 of our small -souledness. who will whisper in 00:13:52.659 --> 00:13:56.259 our ear words of God which will encourage and 00:13:56.259 --> 00:14:03.779 lift us up. The Thessalonians were caused anxiety 00:14:03.779 --> 00:14:07.960 by a couple of things perhaps. Perhaps it was 00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:12.039 the persecution that they were undergoing. It 00:14:12.039 --> 00:14:16.259 was severe. Or maybe it was anxiety regarding 00:14:16.259 --> 00:14:18.700 what happened to their brothers and sisters, 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:22.070 their loved ones. who had already been killed. 00:14:22.970 --> 00:14:26.110 Would they participate in the future coming of 00:14:26.110 --> 00:14:28.429 the Lord? Well, Paul has answered those questions. 00:14:29.610 --> 00:14:31.870 Whatever the reason that there were Thessalonians 00:14:31.870 --> 00:14:35.210 discouraged, Paul says to the body, encourage 00:14:35.210 --> 00:14:40.950 them. A word of encouragement or a deed of assistance, 00:14:41.990 --> 00:14:46.070 a reassuring promise, these can make a lifetime 00:14:46.070 --> 00:14:48.710 of difference to someone who is passing through 00:14:48.710 --> 00:14:51.879 a battle. And so let's be sensitive to that. 00:14:53.159 --> 00:14:57.200 But the apostle goes on. He says that we are 00:14:57.200 --> 00:14:59.299 our brother's keeper in another way. He says, 00:14:59.460 --> 00:15:05.720 help the weak. This thought really doesn't do 00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:08.559 much more than elaborate upon the last one, but 00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:12.220 it takes it a little bit further. It refers here 00:15:12.220 --> 00:15:15.039 to someone who is absolutely without strength, 00:15:15.240 --> 00:15:21.110 who is weak spiritually. Maybe it was in Paul's 00:15:21.110 --> 00:15:24.610 mind those in Thessalonica who were weak to sexual 00:15:24.610 --> 00:15:28.230 temptation. For he commanded them strongly in 00:15:28.230 --> 00:15:31.970 the fourth chapter to be pure. God has called 00:15:31.970 --> 00:15:39.350 us to purity, he says. So avoid sexual immorality. 00:15:40.529 --> 00:15:44.169 Stay away from things that will bring sin to 00:15:44.169 --> 00:15:48.269 your path. He exhorts them. And so to the weak, 00:15:48.429 --> 00:15:51.509 the apostle says to the others, help them in 00:15:51.509 --> 00:15:55.950 their temptation. Maybe there were some who were 00:15:55.950 --> 00:15:58.370 left without strength because of the pressure 00:15:58.370 --> 00:16:02.309 of persecution. Paul is saying, help those who 00:16:02.309 --> 00:16:05.769 are weak. The fact is that all of us experience 00:16:05.769 --> 00:16:11.070 times of weakness or times of burnout in our 00:16:11.070 --> 00:16:14.509 lives. when we've given it everything we can 00:16:14.509 --> 00:16:20.450 and we just don't feel like we can go on. Some 00:16:20.450 --> 00:16:24.789 find it always difficult to face life without 00:16:24.789 --> 00:16:29.049 help. And so we who are strong must be sensitive 00:16:29.049 --> 00:16:33.710 to them. To help them means to lay hold on them. 00:16:33.850 --> 00:16:36.870 The idea is to keep yourself directly across 00:16:36.870 --> 00:16:41.350 from them. Some of you work in physical therapy 00:16:41.350 --> 00:16:45.350 and you know the skill that you learned in how 00:16:45.350 --> 00:16:49.409 to help a person who is weak, to lift them from 00:16:49.409 --> 00:16:52.629 the bed or out of the chair, to place them in 00:16:52.629 --> 00:16:56.210 a position where they can be served or helped 00:16:56.210 --> 00:16:59.230 or where they can rest. You learn how to keep 00:16:59.230 --> 00:17:01.750 yourself across from them and to keep your back 00:17:01.750 --> 00:17:04.849 straight. You learn how to lay hold of them in 00:17:04.849 --> 00:17:09.690 a proper manner. That's Paul's word here. He 00:17:09.690 --> 00:17:14.529 says give therapy to those who are weak Hold 00:17:14.529 --> 00:17:17.289 yourself directly opposite of them and lay hold 00:17:17.289 --> 00:17:23.869 of them to lift them up Others of you are lifeguards 00:17:23.869 --> 00:17:26.230 I always admire those people who have learned 00:17:26.230 --> 00:17:29.670 to swim that well And who've acquired the skill 00:17:29.670 --> 00:17:32.130 of being able to rescue others who are drowning 00:17:32.130 --> 00:17:36.890 He says if you see someone who is going down 00:17:37.049 --> 00:17:41.029 Go out to them and bring them back in. That's 00:17:41.029 --> 00:17:45.730 the point. Help those who are weak. How do we 00:17:45.730 --> 00:17:52.089 do that? Well, patient reassurance. Shepherd 00:17:52.089 --> 00:17:57.390 -like care. Perhaps doing things like the Samaritan 00:17:57.390 --> 00:17:59.829 did for the man that he found who had been beaten 00:17:59.829 --> 00:18:03.029 and left for dead. Helping those who are weak. 00:18:04.910 --> 00:18:07.829 There are those you know whom God wants you to 00:18:07.829 --> 00:18:15.150 help this week Let's not neglect doing that There's 00:18:15.150 --> 00:18:20.690 a little boy one time who wandered into a Meeting 00:18:20.690 --> 00:18:23.369 where the gospel was being preached. He was very 00:18:23.369 --> 00:18:27.410 poor Really a street child as we would call him 00:18:27.410 --> 00:18:31.609 today And having heard the gospel preached in 00:18:31.609 --> 00:18:35.769 that meeting he was genuinely converted Not long 00:18:35.769 --> 00:18:38.289 afterward, there was a man who had known him 00:18:38.289 --> 00:18:41.009 from his days past who tried to shake him in 00:18:41.009 --> 00:18:45.470 his faith and posed a question to him to try 00:18:45.470 --> 00:18:48.130 to make him stumble. He said, if God really loves 00:18:48.130 --> 00:18:51.789 you, why doesn't he take better care of you by 00:18:51.789 --> 00:18:54.250 telling someone to give you a new pair of shoes? 00:18:58.210 --> 00:19:00.470 This little boy who had just been saved a few 00:19:00.470 --> 00:19:04.119 days thought for a moment about that. tears began 00:19:04.119 --> 00:19:07.500 to trickle down his cheeks. And he said, well, 00:19:07.500 --> 00:19:11.180 I guess he does tell somebody, but they just 00:19:11.180 --> 00:19:18.400 forget. There are some people out there, folks, 00:19:18.440 --> 00:19:22.279 who are weak and who are burned out. It may be 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:27.380 somebody seated right next to you. Or maybe someone 00:19:27.380 --> 00:19:31.359 that you work with. Or some person who lives 00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:34.099 in another state and God is saying to you this 00:19:34.099 --> 00:19:38.960 morning help that person Lay hold of that brother 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:43.220 that sister To lift them up and give them what 00:19:43.220 --> 00:19:47.480 they need at this moment If God is saying that 00:19:47.480 --> 00:19:50.500 I urge you don't forget it, but do what he tells 00:19:50.500 --> 00:19:54.640 you to do And then our Lord says that we are 00:19:54.640 --> 00:19:59.400 responsible to be patient with all Now I could 00:19:59.400 --> 00:20:01.539 wish that there were lots of verses in the Bible 00:20:01.539 --> 00:20:05.440 on patience that had been left out. It would 00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:08.099 make my life a lot easier if I weren't reminded 00:20:08.099 --> 00:20:11.500 constantly to be patient. Because that is not 00:20:11.500 --> 00:20:15.700 a natural virtue of mine. That comes as a surprise 00:20:15.700 --> 00:20:18.039 to some people who know me only in this kind 00:20:18.039 --> 00:20:21.200 of a setting. But those who know me more intimately 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:23.660 know that it's not one of my prime qualities. 00:20:25.349 --> 00:20:27.549 especially those who ride with me in the car 00:20:27.549 --> 00:20:30.650 when I'm all alone, if you get the drift of what 00:20:30.650 --> 00:20:35.009 I'm saying. It is so difficult for me to be patient 00:20:35.009 --> 00:20:37.289 with unlicensed drivers who are on the road. 00:20:38.630 --> 00:20:44.109 How about you? What is the point where you are 00:20:44.109 --> 00:20:49.630 tried regarding patience? I am sorry to tell 00:20:49.630 --> 00:20:51.670 you this morning, no, I'm really glad to tell 00:20:51.670 --> 00:20:55.089 you, that the Word of God says to all of us who 00:20:55.089 --> 00:21:01.329 struggle with patience, be patient. Be patient 00:21:01.329 --> 00:21:09.009 with all. I wish there had been some kind of 00:21:09.009 --> 00:21:12.470 qualification on that. Be patient with those 00:21:12.470 --> 00:21:17.450 who are good drivers. Because that's easy to 00:21:17.450 --> 00:21:21.230 do. Be patient with those who think like you 00:21:21.230 --> 00:21:25.500 do. Because that's easy, but he says be patient 00:21:25.500 --> 00:21:30.940 with all. I believe he means even the unsaved. 00:21:31.500 --> 00:21:36.099 Be patient. The idea means to be long -suffering 00:21:36.099 --> 00:21:41.619 or long -tempered regarding them. Show restraint 00:21:41.619 --> 00:21:46.559 in the face of provocation. Hang in there tough 00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:50.200 when you're facing pressure from other people, 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:54.089 when you are disappointed. When someone gives 00:21:54.089 --> 00:22:00.670 you pain or hardship He says refuse to yield 00:22:00.670 --> 00:22:06.950 to inappropriate anger One who is patient does 00:22:06.950 --> 00:22:10.490 not give in to short or a quick temper is not 00:22:10.490 --> 00:22:17.049 irritable or negative Rather is considerate even 00:22:17.049 --> 00:22:23.809 laid back and moderate Certainly, this is a disposition 00:22:23.809 --> 00:22:27.690 that is needed in dealing with people where you 00:22:27.690 --> 00:22:31.990 work, right? And it's needed, too, with some 00:22:31.990 --> 00:22:37.029 of the people in your small church. Occasionally 00:22:37.029 --> 00:22:41.029 it's even needed with your husband. Rarely is 00:22:41.029 --> 00:22:43.230 it needed for your wife, but once in a while. 00:22:44.609 --> 00:22:50.019 Be patient, he says, with all. And finally, if 00:22:50.019 --> 00:22:51.839 we're going to be our brother's keepers, which 00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:54.440 we are commanded to be in a healthy and godly 00:22:54.440 --> 00:22:58.640 sense, we must seek the good for all. The opposite 00:22:58.640 --> 00:23:01.160 of this is retaliation, which he talks about. 00:23:02.700 --> 00:23:04.880 Retaliation is more natural to human nature. 00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:10.660 When someone slugs you, you slug them back. There 00:23:10.660 --> 00:23:13.079 are some who even use scripture to try to attempt 00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:19.799 to justify personal revenge. The scribes did, 00:23:19.799 --> 00:23:23.460 you know, in Jesus' day. They used that verse 00:23:23.460 --> 00:23:27.000 in Exodus 21, an eye for an eye and a tooth for 00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:30.220 a tooth. And if you have listened carefully on 00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:32.920 television, you have heard that very recently 00:23:32.920 --> 00:23:37.180 from some of their descendants in Israel. And 00:23:37.180 --> 00:23:41.640 I'm not saying it's improper. But I am saying, 00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:45.039 and using it for personal revenge, it's improper. 00:23:46.950 --> 00:23:50.549 Jesus refuted a false scribal inference drawn 00:23:50.549 --> 00:23:54.950 from this verse, says one commentary. An eye 00:23:54.950 --> 00:23:58.130 for an eye and a tooth for a tooth was originally 00:23:58.130 --> 00:24:01.869 intended to restrain people from going beyond 00:24:01.869 --> 00:24:05.789 equal retaliation in punishment for social wrongs 00:24:05.789 --> 00:24:08.569 against the community. That's the context, you 00:24:08.569 --> 00:24:11.970 see. The scribes had distorted the commandment's 00:24:11.970 --> 00:24:14.890 purpose by using it to justify personal revenge. 00:24:15.339 --> 00:24:19.960 What had been given as restrictive law had through 00:24:19.960 --> 00:24:23.000 human traditions been transformed into permissive 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:26.500 rule. In speaking out against this tradition, 00:24:26.599 --> 00:24:29.720 Jesus emphatically set the tone for his followers 00:24:29.720 --> 00:24:36.400 in forbidding personal revenge altogether. He 00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:41.759 says that you and I are to pursue earnestly the 00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:48.279 good of all. Everyone is bearing some kind of 00:24:48.279 --> 00:24:51.660 a burden and so it's easy, it's important rather 00:24:51.660 --> 00:24:56.400 for you and for me to be kind. To treat others 00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:59.380 the way that we ourselves want to be treated. 00:25:01.279 --> 00:25:04.740 Let me once again summarize this in closing by 00:25:04.740 --> 00:25:08.039 referring to one of Swindoll's comments where 00:25:08.039 --> 00:25:11.640 he says, rather than return caustic comments, 00:25:12.119 --> 00:25:15.240 with more caustic comments, frowns with more 00:25:15.240 --> 00:25:18.539 frowns, fists with more fists, and backstabbing 00:25:18.539 --> 00:25:21.579 with more backstabbing. Christians are exhorted 00:25:21.579 --> 00:25:24.400 by the Lord to always seek that which is in the 00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:28.119 best interest of both believers and unbelievers. 00:25:29.599 --> 00:25:32.400 In other words, we are to return evil with good, 00:25:33.140 --> 00:25:37.539 ugly remarks with kind words, frowns with smiles, 00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:41.680 with attempts at reconciliation and backstabbing 00:25:41.680 --> 00:25:45.119 with genuine forgiveness. If we would honestly 00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:48.400 obey this command, historians would be unable 00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:51.900 to sufficiently record the revival that would 00:25:51.900 --> 00:25:55.079 sweep Christ's church and the vast numbers of 00:25:55.079 --> 00:26:00.380 people who would convert to Christianity. Do 00:26:00.380 --> 00:26:02.420 you remember the story that John Benham told 00:26:02.420 --> 00:26:07.339 about the lady in the tribe on Taliabu that he 00:26:07.339 --> 00:26:13.420 met? or rather it was a man, a father. His son 00:26:13.420 --> 00:26:17.039 had been playing with some other children and 00:26:17.039 --> 00:26:19.599 they decided to find out what would happen if 00:26:19.599 --> 00:26:23.160 you poked a hot stick in someone's eye. And so 00:26:23.160 --> 00:26:26.140 they held down his son and poked the hot stick 00:26:26.140 --> 00:26:33.240 into his eye, blinding him in that eye. The father 00:26:33.240 --> 00:26:36.970 went to those who did that. And this father had 00:26:36.970 --> 00:26:40.630 been converted as a result of the ministry of 00:26:40.630 --> 00:26:44.970 Steve and Mary Lynette in that place. And he 00:26:44.970 --> 00:26:47.390 said to those responsible for this incident and 00:26:47.390 --> 00:26:51.769 to the parents, if it were not for the fact that 00:26:51.769 --> 00:26:55.269 I were a Christian, I would kill you. But I am 00:26:55.269 --> 00:27:04.490 a Christian and I forgive you. That man on Taliabu 00:27:04.809 --> 00:27:09.009 by his example says something to you and me. 00:27:11.970 --> 00:27:15.109 When we're placed in positions where we are victimized, 00:27:16.289 --> 00:27:20.910 where we are treated unfairly, where we are exploited 00:27:20.910 --> 00:27:29.329 and hurt. Seek the good, he says, of all. We 00:27:29.329 --> 00:27:34.490 are not called to be isolationists. God is no 00:27:34.490 --> 00:27:39.150 isolationist. God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, 00:27:39.230 --> 00:27:42.390 into the world to pay the price for our sin. 00:27:44.470 --> 00:27:46.950 And God has called you and me who named Jesus 00:27:46.950 --> 00:27:51.630 as Savior and Lord to be ambassadors, not isolationists. 00:27:52.910 --> 00:27:55.650 As the Father has sent the Son, so He has sent 00:27:55.650 --> 00:27:59.690 us into the world to bring the world the message 00:27:59.690 --> 00:28:04.180 of hope in Jesus Christ. and to lovingly address 00:28:04.180 --> 00:28:08.380 the hurts and the needs of those around us. That 00:28:08.380 --> 00:28:11.900 is our duty. It is an order which is delivered 00:28:11.900 --> 00:28:17.380 to us by divine dispatch. We must first see the 00:28:17.380 --> 00:28:21.859 need around us and then respond as Jesus would 00:28:21.859 --> 00:28:29.079 respond. Sympathy sees and says, I'm sorry, but 00:28:29.079 --> 00:28:34.920 compassion sees. and says, I will help. How will 00:28:34.920 --> 00:28:42.240 you help? Is someone out of step with God? Warn 00:28:42.240 --> 00:28:48.400 them. Is someone despondent? Comfort them. Is 00:28:48.400 --> 00:28:52.740 someone weak? Help them. Is someone irritating? 00:28:53.500 --> 00:29:00.509 Be patient. Has someone done evil? Do good. God 00:29:00.509 --> 00:29:04.289 gives us here our duty to others. And I'm grateful 00:29:04.289 --> 00:29:07.869 that God also gives us the resources we need 00:29:07.869 --> 00:29:11.950 so that we can do our duty. He gives us the word 00:29:11.950 --> 00:29:15.589 where we get the wisdom to know what can be done 00:29:15.589 --> 00:29:19.410 to help. He gives us the Holy Spirit who gives 00:29:19.410 --> 00:29:24.250 us the power to respond. And He gives us the 00:29:24.250 --> 00:29:28.640 Church to support us. in our response to the 00:29:28.640 --> 00:29:35.119 needs of others. One preacher on an occasion 00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:37.500 took two phrases that were familiar and made 00:29:37.500 --> 00:29:40.579 a sermon out of them. The two phrases were, what 00:29:40.579 --> 00:29:44.660 in the world are you doing? And for heaven's 00:29:44.660 --> 00:29:51.980 sake. The sermon went like this. What in the 00:29:51.980 --> 00:29:57.109 world are you doing for heaven's sake? What in 00:29:57.109 --> 00:30:04.589 the world are you doing for heaven's sake? What 00:30:04.589 --> 00:30:09.390 in the world are you doing for heaven's sake? 00:30:11.789 --> 00:30:16.369 What in the world are you doing for heaven's 00:30:16.369 --> 00:30:21.769 sake? And it concluded, what in the world are 00:30:21.769 --> 00:30:29.630 you doing for Heaven's sake, our responsibility 00:30:29.630 --> 00:30:39.470 to others. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, we would be 00:30:39.470 --> 00:30:44.069 like you and respond to the needs of others as 00:30:44.069 --> 00:30:49.630 you would respond. Sometimes we find ourselves 00:30:49.630 --> 00:30:53.769 so overwhelmed with our own needs that it's difficult. 00:30:55.470 --> 00:31:01.589 lift us from our sense of need to see the sufficiency 00:31:01.589 --> 00:31:06.529 that we have in Jesus Christ to fulfill our duties 00:31:06.529 --> 00:31:10.849 to others. Sometimes we are so overwhelmed by 00:31:10.849 --> 00:31:13.309 our own selfishness and sinfulness that we don't 00:31:13.309 --> 00:31:18.750 respond. Forgive us and give us a heart of repentance 00:31:18.750 --> 00:31:24.839 that we might see. and with sympathy say, I will 00:31:24.839 --> 00:31:30.519 help. May we be more than hearers of the word, 00:31:30.700 --> 00:31:37.359 but doers as we go our way. And because we are 00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:41.400 yielded to your spirit and walking with you this 00:31:41.400 --> 00:31:45.259 week, may our lives make a difference and may 00:31:45.259 --> 00:31:49.140 we do something in this world for heaven's sake. 00:31:51.910 --> 00:31:56.009 Let's stand together please to be closed in prayer. 00:32:00.809 --> 00:32:03.470 Let's just sing the chorus that I think you know.