Stay on Track

Theme: Practical Christian Living

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Objectives:

Know: The Thessalonian Christians were new believers learning how to live for God. Paul gave them some practical advice we also can use to help us live for Christ.

Think: Live with the mindset that God’s Word guides all we do.

Do: Put the practical truths of Scripture into practice each day.

Notes and questions:

B1 How do we continue to live a Christian life?

B2 The work of satan towards the Christian and the deliverance of Jesus for us. I want to include this, because God’s rules are good. Satan wants us to think they are not good and uses many ways to convince us.

C1 Satan

D1 Pretends to love and promise pleasures.

D2 Seduces

D3 Lies (John 8:44)

D4 Murders (John 8:44)

D5 Harassment

D6 Destroys

D7 Brings back bad memories

D8 Pretends to be God (so God will get the blame)

D9 Bullies

D10 Tries to thwart God’s will

D11 Twists the Scriptures (Matthew 4:6 where he does not quote the entire passage. See Psalm 91:11-13).

D12 Gives false promises of power and success

D13 Gives the impression that there is no devil and no hell

D14 Encourages false gospel (A false Jesus and that works are necessary)

D15 Inspires others to hate, persecute, and kill Jews and Christians.

D16 Hinders and oppresses (Zechariah 3:1 and 1 Thessalonians 2:18)

D17 Hinders the Gospel (Matthew 13:19 and 2 Corinthians 4:4)

D18 Does imitation miracles (2 Thessalonians 2:9 and Revelation 16:14)

D19 Comes as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14)

D20 Lusts and inspires lust in others (John 8:44)

D21 Possesses people to do his will (Luke 22:3)

D22 Deceives (Revelation 20:7-8)

D23 Enslaves (1 Timothy 3:7 and 2 Timothy 2:26)

D24 Hates

C2 Jesus

D1 Loves us (John 16:27 and Hebrews 12:6)

D2 Came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8)

D3 And many other things, for example, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;  (Luke 4:18, NKJV)

B3 We have in this passage a short list of rules for the Christian

C1 Respect leaders of the church

D1 How do we show respect to the leaders of the church?

D2 Are we to automatically accept what they teach?

C2 Be at peace with each other

D1 What is peace?

D2 How can we be at peace with each and every person?

C3 Warn the unruly (rebellious)

D1 What attitude are we to have when we rebuke?

D2 Is this only for pastors to do?

C4 Comfort the discouraged

D1 Why do people get discouraged?

D2 Name some ways we can help.

C5 Strengthen the weak

D1 Who are the weak?

D2 How do we strengthen them?

C6 Be patient

D1 How can we learn to be patient?

D2 When do we stop being patient?

C7 Do not avenge

D1 Why is it wrong to seek vengeance?

D2 Are we to be total pacifists?

C8 Seek good

D1 What is good?

D2 How do we seek for it?

C9 Always rejoice

D1 Are we to rejoice in tragedy?

D2 Compare 1 Thessalonians 3:2-4 and 2 Corinthians 12:10

C10 Continuously pray

D1 Why do we pray?

D2 Is this only a ritual?

C11 Always give thanks

D1 Does God NEED thanks? Does God need anything?

D2 Do we like being thanked?

C12 Do not quench the Spirit

D1 How does a person quench the Spirit?

D2 When I was a young man in my late teens, my pastor Dr David Otis Fuller was preaching. He told the story of a man who was under conviction for his sin. This man wanted to talk to Dr Fuller, but a Christian standing next to him, prevented him from doing that. Dr Fuller then stated that he conducted the funeral of that Christian that very week. The man who had quenched the Spirit died. Of course, death is not always the penalty but does show the seriousness of quenching the Spirit.

C13 Do not despise prophecies

D1 Prophet

E1 Tells about future. Jesus did (Mark 8:31). Agabus did (Acts 21:10-11). John the Apostle did (Revelation 1:11). Also Acts 3:18 and 1 Peter 1:11

E2 Receives a message from God and carries it to the person(s) that God designated. Among many examples, there are Nathan (2 Samuel 12:1-15),  Isaiah (2 Kings 19:6-7), and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 3:17). There were many others as 2 Chronicles 36:15 and Jeremiah 35:15.

E3 Receives knowledge from God that is unknown by others as Peter (Acts 5:1-6) and Jesus (John 6:70).

E4 Is carried along by the Holy Spirit. This means the Holy Spirit gives them a message which they carry (bring, speak) to people. The Holy Spirit gave a message which they carried to the people. The Greek word is usually translated bring with the idea of carrying and is understood in various ways.

D2 Are there still prophets today?

C14 Test, examine, everything

D1 Are we to judge?

D2 How do we judge?

D3 What is the standard?

E1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. (Matthew 7:1-2, NKJV)

E2 In a different translation, “Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you, for God will judge you in the same way you judge others, and he will apply to you the same rules you apply to others. (Matthew 7:1-2, GNB92)

C15 Hold on to what is good

D1 What is good?

D2 Is all change wrong?

D3 What is this verse speaking of?

C16 Abstain from evil

D1 How do we define evil?

E1 The word evil is not the word for something bad.

E2 It is the word for . Strong’s has this note: (properly) in effect or influence, and thus differing from G2556, which refers rather to essential character, as well as from G4550, which indicates degeneracy from original virtue. G2556 deals with the character of something, thus murder is bad, lying is bad, etc. G4550 deals with a change as fruit becomes rotten. This word (G4190) deals more with the effects of something. Prophecy is something good, but fake/false prophecy is evil in its effects.

D2 Why is evil wrong?

B4 Prayer

C1 For believers: Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, NKJV)

C2 For the Apostle and his team: Brethren, pray for us. (1 Thessalonians 5:25, NKJV)

B5 Last words

C1 Greet all the believers.

C2 Read this letter

C3 May God’s grace be with you

B6 Next week:

C1 Future-Proof Faith

C2 Theme: Enduring in truth

C3 Scriptures: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17

He Is Coming

Theme: Waiting in faithfulness

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11

Notes and questions:

B1 Objectives (From the D6 Fusion Sunday School Lesson book)

C1 Know: Christ will return to gather His saints. In that day, the wrath of the Lord will be unleashed upon the earth. Christians should be ready for His return.

C2 Think: Let consciousness of the Lord’s return guide my daily living.

C3 Do: Anticipate and be ready for Christ’s return, and encourage each other with that hope.

B2 First questions:

C1 Are you anticipating the return of the Lord Jesus? Why?

C2 Christians have been waiting for nearly 2,000 years. Why should we still wait?

C3 If we knew for sure, that He is coming tomorrow, would we change anything about our life?

C4 When our loved ones, who are believers, die, is there any hope to see them again? Why?

B3 After death--What happens? Conscious or not conscious?

C1 Not conscious (soul sleep). Technically, it is called Christian mortalism, or simply mortalism. Seventh Day Adventist and Jehovah Witness are among those that believe this. The Seventh Day Adventist believes that the believer with be raised (bodily) from death and live forever, while, the unbeliever’s body and soul are destroyed forever, that is, annihilated. The main arguments for this is

D1 Seventh Day Adventist--Their view: The unconscious nothingness of death separates us from the God of life, yet Jesus’ defeat of death means the saved can look forward to resurrection and living forever. The wages of sin is death. But God, who alone is immortal, will grant eternal life to His redeemed. Until that day death is an unconscious state for all people. When Christ, who is our life, appears, the resurrected righteous and the living righteous will be glorified and caught up to meet their Lord. The second resurrection, the resurrection of the unrighteous, will take place a thousand years later. (Job 19:25-27; Ps. 146:3, 4; Eccl. 9:5, 6, 10; Dan. 12:2, 13; Isa. 25:8; John 5:28, 29; 11:11-14; Rom. 6:23; 6:16; 1 Cor. 15:51-54; Col. 3:4; 1 Thess. 4:13-17; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 20:1-10.)

D2 A reason given is “The words most commonly translated as “spirit” in the Scriptures of both Old (Hebrew: ruach) and New (Greek: pneuma) Testament are also the words for “wind” and “breath.” When someone dies, the “spirit” (breath, life-force) returns to God who gave it (Psalm 104:29-30; Acts 7:59).”

D3 There is a number of answers. I realize they have answers to what is below, but the problem is they do not take the Bible in its plain, normal sense, in grammatico-historical (grammatical-historical) understanding, context, and cross references.

E1 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’ ? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” (Matthew 22:32, NKJV). No soul sleep, only consciousness and life.

E2 Then the Lamb broke open the fifth seal. I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed because they had proclaimed God's word and had been faithful in their witnessing. They shouted in a loud voice, “Almighty Lord, holy and true! How long will it be until you judge the people on earth and punish them for killing us?” Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer, until the complete number of other servants and believers were killed, as they had been. (Revelation 6:9-11, GNB92). It seems a little hard for someone to be shouting, when they are unconscious.

E3 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4, NKJV)

E4 The sun sets and rises, a person sleeps in death are examples of phenomenological language. This means the language of appearances. It appears, looks like, the sun sets and rises and the dead person sleeps.

E5 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:59-60, NKJV). If humans possess no immaterial spirit, what is the point of Jesus receiving (welcoming) Stephen’s spirit? It would be meaningless.

E6 And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”– (Mark 9:4-5, NKJV). Moses and Elijah are dead, they are not raised, so how can this be if not their conscious spirit?

E7 Having said these things He says to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going in order to awaken him.” His disciples said to Him, “Lord, if he is sleeping he will get well.” But Jesus had spoken of his death, while they thought He was talking about natural sleep. (John 11:11-13  (WPNT). Sleep is just a term for death depending on the content.

E8 For further study see Don Stewart--Are People Unconscious at Death? (Soul Sleep)

C2 Conscious--We believe that a human has material and nonmaterial substance, so even if the material turns to compost, the nonmaterial lives. The material is the body, the vessel, the container, for the nonmaterial.

B4 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18,

C1 Who has fallen asleep in this passage?

C2 Give one reason of the importance of the resurrection?

C3 What is the worry of the living believers in Thessaloniki?

C4 What is the importance of believing, that is, faith?

C5 1 Thessalonians 4:14 has two interpretations of where the souls are.

D1 The first is they are not with Jesus in heaven, and the second is the souls are with Jesus. One translates it:

E1 We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will take back with Jesus those who have died believing in him. (1 Thessalonians 4:14, GNB92).

E2 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 4:14, NKJV)

D2 Consider: So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:6-8, NKJV). The word with is pros, that is, near, with, close to, etc.

C6 What is meant by the phrase by the word of the Lord? (Either Paul received this by revelation, or it refers to his authority as an apostle).

C7 Note the idea of Imminence. Imminence is something to happen soon or at any time. The Rapture can happen at any time. For the Second Coming seen by all, various events have to happen before He returns. See here, here, and here for more information. Some other verses on imminence:

D1 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. (James 5:8, NASB).

D2 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. (Philippians 4:5, NKJV)

D3 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20, NKJV)

C8 Who descends?

C9 Who is the archangel? (It is not mentioned. The only archangel mentioned in the Bible is Michael (Jude 1:9, Daniel 10:13, Revelation 12:7). Archangel is some type of high ranking angel who has more authority and power than others).

C10 Who goes first to be with the Lord Jesus?

C11 The word caught up is the Greek word, ἁρπάζω harpazo. It means to jerk up or snatch.

C12 Where do we meet the Lord?

C13 How do these words comfort?

B5 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11,

C1 Is there any warning or sign of this coming?

C2 How would you explain thief in the night?

C3 The term The Day of the Lord refers to special days that God intervenes in earthly affairs usually judgment. For the believer, it will be a day of joy. For the unbeliever, it will be a day of terror. Here it refers to the beginning of the end time events--the rapture, the tribulation, the Millennium, and the final judgment.

C4 Who are the one’s preaching a message of peace and safety? (These are false prophets as in "For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is greedy for gain, And from the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals [fn] falsely. "They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace. (Jeremiah 6:13-14, NASB).

C5 Why shouldn’t that day surprise believers?

C6 What kingdom are those of the light and day? What kingdom are those of the night and darkness?

C7 What do the words watch and sober mean? The word for watch is γρηγορεύω gregoreuo and means to be vigilant and alert. The word for sober is νήφω nepho and it means to not be drunk or having judgment, awareness, clouded.

C8 In 1 Thessalonians 5:7, what is to be our behavior? (Sober). What are we to put on? (A breastplate of faith and love, and a helmet of the hope of salvation).

C9 In 1 Thessalonians 5:8-9, who is appointed to wrath, and who is to obtain salvation? Another translation has But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation. (1 Thessalonians 5:8, NLT).

C10 Our salvation comes through whom? Can we obtain our salvation of ourselves?

C11 Who is going to live together with Him?

C12 How can we help and encourage one another?

B6 Did Paul know the date of the coming of Jesus Christ?

B7 Is the return of Jesus Christ an important doctrine to believe and teach?

B8 How are we to live knowing this doctrine?

B9 Next week:

C1 Stay on Track

C2 Theme: Practical Christian Living

C3 Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28