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The Model Life: What Now? · CCC West Covina

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52 weeks ago we began First Thessalonians, and today we come
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to the conclusion of this marvelous book.
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We began looking at chapter one. That's where you usually begin
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when you start a new book. And it was all about the model
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church. And the Church of Thessalonica
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sets a pattern. In fact, it's the only church
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that God calls a pattern in the New Testament.
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In other words, it's a church that we are to model our lives
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after. So chapter 1 is all about the
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model church. Chapter 2, verses 1 to 12 was
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all about the model leader. Model churches have model
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leaders, and Paul was that model leader.
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And then you move to verse 13 of chapter 2 down to the end and
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you have the model follower. Model churches have model
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followers who follow model leaders.
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And then you move into Chapter 3 and you see all about the model
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friend, because model friends are model followers and model
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followers follow model leaders that make up a model church.
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And then you come to chapter 4 and five.
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You have what is called the the model life because the model
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friends and model followers and model leaders live the kind of
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life that others are to emulate. So that you have a church that
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is a model church. And we gave you 6
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characteristics that describe the model life #1 The model life
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abstains from sexual immorality #2 The model life is that life
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that aspires to a life of charity #3 the model life was
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one who anticipates the return of deity.
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And then #4 the model life is one that is alert to the world's
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destiny and their responsibility.
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And then the model life is one that adapts within God's
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wonderful family. And then lastly, the model life
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is the one that adores their God fully and continually.
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That's chapter 4 and chapter 5. And now, now Paul is going to
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bring everything to a conclusion.
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And I wonder what must have been going through his mind as he
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concludes this, this epistle. You know, when you write a
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letter to someone, you want to bring it to a conclusion, an
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ending point. You want to bring it to a place
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where you can kind of drive home what has already been said, kind
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of summon it up so that others will will grasp it fully.
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The difference between your letters, my letters and Paul's
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letters is that Paul's letters were inspired by God.
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Yours and mine are are not, but his was.
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And yet it was all about his emotions and and thoughts that
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played a a major part in his conclusion.
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So let's let's look at it and let's read it and see what Paul
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has to say as he concludes this epistle, verse 23 of chapter 5.
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Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely, and may
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your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame
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at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, faithful as he who calls
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you, and he also will bring it to pass.
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Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with a
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holy kiss. I adjure you by the Lord to have
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this letter read to all the brethren.
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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
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This is how Paul concludes. He gives a solemn, A solemn
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request, and then he gives a sincere reminder.
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The solemn request is is made-up into three different categories.
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It's rooted in the peace of God. It is revealed in his prayer to
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God and it is realized in the promise from God That is his
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solemn request. It's rooted in the peace of God,
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the God who is peace. He says now, now, now, may the
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God himself, the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely.
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It's all about the God of peace. He, he's going to focus their
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attention on their God and, and the peace that only God himself
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can bring. So he wants to focus their
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attention on the God who brings them peace because as he
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concludes this letter, he wants them to be at peace not just
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with the Lord, but with one another.
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And having been justified by faith.
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Romans 51, it tells us that you have peace with God.
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So they're already at peace with God because it's the church and
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they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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So they're already at peace with God and he is asking the God of
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peace to do something unique and special in their lives.
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It's so important to realize that our Lord is the Lord of
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peace. In fact, in in Second
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Thessalonians, Paul says this in chapter 3 verse #16 he says now
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may the Lord of peace himself continually grant you peace in
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every circumstance. The Lord be with you all.
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So even in the second letter he's going to refer back to the
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Lord of peace. Remember, it's the Father.
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It's the Father who provides peace.
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It's the Son who purchased peace, and it's the Spirit that
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produces peace. It's God the Father who provides
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it. But in order to have it, it has
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to be purchased, and the sun purchased that peace on
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Calvary's tree. And once you embrace what the
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sun has done, it's a Spirit of God that produces that peace.
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For the fruit of the Spirit is Lovejoy and peace.
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It all comes from the Spirit of God.
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That's why the Old Testament says in Isaiah 26 verse #3 that
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God will keep him in perfect peace.
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Whose mind is stayed on thee? So Paul is drawing them back,
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referencing the Old Testament and drawing them back to the God
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of peace. So they recognize that their
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mind is to be stayed, to be focused on the God of peace.
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A hymn that we used to sing growing up in the church.
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Don't sing it much today, but it's a, it's a great hymn.
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It's called like a River glorious.
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It says like a river, Glorious is God's perfect peace over all.
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Victorious in its bright increase, perfect, yet it
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floweth. Fuller every day perfect yet it
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groweth deeper all the way. Hidden in the hollow of His
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blessed hand. Never folk and follow, never
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traitor. Stand not a surge of worry, not
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a shade of care, not a blast of hurry.
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Touch the Spirit there. Every joy or trial fall from
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above traced upon our dial by the son of love.
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We may trust him fully all for us to do they trust him holy
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find him holy true saved upon Jehovah hearts are fully blessed
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finding as he promised perfect peace and rest So Paul as he
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concludes with this solemn request.
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It's, it's rooted in the peace of God.
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But then notice this, it's revealed in his prayer to God.
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Now may the God of peace sanctify you entirely, sanctify
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you completely, he says. And may your spirit and soul and
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body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of
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our Lord Jesus Christ. He wants him to understand
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complete and total sanctification and complete and
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total security. Now may the God of peace himself
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sanctify you, set you apart completely, entirely holy toward
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Him. Now.
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Now we know that we're sanctified when we are saved.
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We are set apart under God for his purposes.
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When we are saved, we are justified and sanctified.
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But that positional sanctification needs to be lived
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out on a regular basis so that we practically work out our
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salvation with fear and trembling.
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As Paul says in Philippians chapter 2, that we are setting
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ourselves apart from the things of the world.
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If Paul says the way that happens is because the God of
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peace who's going to set you apart completely one day at the
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coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, but in the meantime stay
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separate from the things of the world.
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And then notice this. He says also realize that he
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will secure you, He will safeguard you, He will watch
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over you, soul, spirit, body, mind, everything.
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He's asking God to help them understand the security they
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have in the God of peace. And that security can only come
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to the God who who gives peace. And so he makes this solemn
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request that's rooted in the in the peace of God, and that is
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truly revealed in his prayer to God and then is truly realized
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in the promise of God, faithful as he who called you, who also
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will bring it to pass. He appeals to the faithfulness
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of God, not just the peace of God, but the faithfulness of
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God. I love what Psalm 3311 says when
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it says that his faithfulness is the the belt around his waist.
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Faithfulness is the belt around the waist of God.
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In other words, it's the faithfulness of God that holds
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all of his attributes together. He's faithful in love, He's
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faithful in grace, he's faithful in mercy, He's faithful in
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compassion, He's faithful in his power, he's faithful in his
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presence. He's faithful in everything.
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And so because he is faithful, it's the, it's the belt that
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holds all the attributes together.
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The Bible says over in Revelation 3 verse #14 as well
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as Revelation chapter 19 that our God is faithful and our God
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is true. The Bible says in Psalm 37 three
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that we are to feed securely on the faithfulness of God.
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In other words, God's faithfulness is our daily food,
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it's our daily sustenance. Because God is faithful to do
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everything he said he's going to do, faithful as he who called
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you, who will bring it to pass. In other words, he will sanctify
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you, He will glorify you, He will secure you.
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Because it all depends on the faithfulness of God, not on
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those who believe God does it. And so he appeals to the
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faithfulness of God. I think so many times we we miss
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how faithful God is. God is faithful to take you
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through temptation. First Corinthians 10/13 there is
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no temptation taking you such as it's common to man, but God is
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faithful. God's faithful to always provide
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a route of escape. Whenever you are tempted,
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there's always going to be a route of escape because God's
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faithful to provide that for you.
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God. God is faithful to forgive you
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all your sins. If we confess our sins, He is
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faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from
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all unrighteousness. That's what God does.
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So we know that He will take us through temptation.
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We know that when we confess our sins, He is faithful and true to
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forgive us all of our sins. I don't have to worry about
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whether or not God's going to forgive me or not.
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He's already forgiven all my sins, past, present, and future.
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But when I go to him and I say the same thing about my sin that
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God says about my sin, that's what it means to confess.
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Then God is faithful and just to cleanse us from all
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unrighteousness. It's important to know that the
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Bible tells us that God answers prayer based on His
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faithfulness. Listen to what the Psalmist said
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in Psalm 143 verse #1 Hear my prayer.
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O Lord, give ear to my suffocations.
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Answer me in your faithfulness. Answer me in your faithfulness.
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God is so faithful to answer prayer.
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Sometimes we forget about that, but He is because He is always
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true to His word. Over in Second Thessalonians
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chapter 3 verse #3 Paul says these words.
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He says, but the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen
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and protect you from the evil. God is faithful to protect you
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from the evil one. He's faithful to strengthen you
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so that you can withstand the evilness of the evil one.
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God is so faithful. So Paul appeals to the
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faithfulness of God as he concludes this epistle.
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Faithful, as he called you, who also will bring it to pass.
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And then he moves from a solemn request to a sincere reminder.
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He's going to remind us of four things.
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The first one is this engage in prayer for one another.
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Paul says simply, brethren, pray for us.
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Now all throughout the letter, Paul has already prayed for
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them. Chapter one verse #2 he said, I
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pray for you continually in chapter 3.
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Pray that their love would abound more and more.
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And all throughout Paul's epistles, he, he begins to
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always pray for his people. And then he says, now, now,
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brethren, pray for us. But he didn't tell him what the
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requests are. He just says, brethren, pray for
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us. And I think about that.
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And I think that as we conclude this book, wouldn't it be good
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for us to, to, to engage ourselves in praying one for
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another? That is just so important.
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And what do you pray for? Will you pray for the model
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life? You pray that the people of the
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church will abstain from sexual immorality.
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You pray that they would aspire to a life of charity.
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You pray that they would adapt within God's wonderful family.
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You pray that they would adore their God sincerely and
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continually and faithfully. But but think about our prayers
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and how we pray one for another. The best way to understand how
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to pray for one another is to examine Paul's prayers in the
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scripture. You should always pray the Bible
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for people. Always pray the Bible for
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people. Follow Paul's prayers when you
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pray for the church because when you do, you begin to pray
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biblically and you want to pray in line with what the Spirit of
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God wants. So you pray scripturally, You
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pray biblically. So many times our prayers are
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our prayer requests become so, so much more physical than
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spiritual. You ever notice that we always
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want prayer for healing. We always want prayer for our
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health. We always want prayer for going
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into surgery. We always want prayer for our
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recovery after surgery. Right?
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And there's nothing wrong with that.
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But when you think about prayer, are we asking God's will to be
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done? We want God's will to be done in
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your life. Maybe it's God's will that you
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be sick or that you stay sick. I don't know.
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Maybe it's God's will that you be healed.
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I don't know that either. So I pray God's will to be done.
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Why? Because I want God's will for
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your life more than I want my will for your life.
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But when you think about our prayers, we pray along the lines
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of more our will than God's will, right?
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We need to think about that. How do we pray for God's will to
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be accomplished in people's lives?
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Because that's the direction of our prayers.
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I'm reminded of of the nurse who thought of a way that she could
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pray for people's lives. And so it says.
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The story is told of a special nurse who who knew the
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importance of intercessory prayer because each day she used
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her hands as instruments of God's love and mercy toward
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those in her care. She found it natural to use her
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hand as a scheme of prayer. Each finger represented someone
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she wanted to pray for. Her thumb was nearest to her and
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reminded her to pray for those who were closest and dearest.
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The index finger was used for pointing, so it stood for those
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who instructed her. The third finger was the
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tallest. It stood for those in
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leadership. The fourth finger was the
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weakest, representing those in distress and pain.
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The little finger, which was the smallest and least important,
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reminded the nurse to pray for her own needs.
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Wise words because usually the thumb represents our own needs
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because it's closest to us. And so we're going to pray for
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our own needs. Have you ever, have you ever
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thought about how you pray and what you pray for?
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Have you ever wrote those things down?
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Have you ever monitored your own prayer time and think about how
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often are our prayers are more physically related and
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spiritually related? Paul says, brethren pray for us
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and he doesn't give them any particular requests, but he's
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given them five chapters to look at and to realize that Paul had
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already engaged in conflict with Satan.
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He'd already been kicked out of Thessalonica, and so he knew
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that the enemy was at work. So he even knew what they, they,
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they would know what to pray for.
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So he says, brethren, pray for us.
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So engage in prayer for one another #2 I like this one.
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Ensure affection for one another.
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This is how Paul says it. Greet one another with a holy
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kiss. My translation Ensure affection
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one for another. You know the church is to be
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personally involved in each other's lives.
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And it is true that in Paul's day that when people greeted one
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another, they kissed one another on the cheek.
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It's a holy kiss. That's very important to signify
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the kind of kiss that it was. But but it reminds us of, of, of
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the affection and the devotion that the early church had one
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for another. And I think that so much is is
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lacking in today's church when it comes to being affectionate
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one toward another. Paul would say it this way in
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Romans chapter 12. He said be kindly affectionate
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toward one another in brotherly love.
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Be be kindly affectionate toward one another.
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Kindly affectionate translated one word, philos, which means
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friendly kind of love, Storgay, which is a maternal familial
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kind of love, a family kind of love.
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He says we are to be so kindly affectionate toward one another
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that we treat each other as if we're part of the same family
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because we are we're all part of the family of God.
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But but I wonder how how affectionate we are with one
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another. We live in a a digital age and
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it's hindered the way that we relate one with another, and
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that's unfortunate. In fact, think of it this way.
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We substitute communicating technically.
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Instead of connecting personally, we communicate
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technically, but we do not connect personally.
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Do not substitute communication for connection.
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Connection can only happen face to face.
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Communication can come through emails and and texts and
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Instagram and all kinds of modern day technology.
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You can communicate that way, but you cannot connect that way.
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Connection comes through personal experience, eye to eye
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gaze, the the ability to embrace one another.
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It's like, you know, people today are into digital church.
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They want to stay home and watch church on television.
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That's not church, right? We told you months ago that that
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when you do that, it's like watching a fireplace on your TV.
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You know that it's flickering, you can hear it.
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You know that it's moving because you see it, but you
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don't feel any warmth because of it.
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Why? Because there's no connection.
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You can get as close to your TV as you want, but there's no
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warmth coming from that fireplace on your television.
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In order to experience the warmth of a fireplace, you got
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to be by the fire. And the closer you get to the
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fire, the hotter it becomes. Well, the same way it is true in
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the church. We don't connect digitally, you
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connect personally. In fact, think of it this way.
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The more distracted or distracted we are digitally and
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technically, the more displaced we are spiritually and
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personally. Think about that.
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The more distracted we are digitally and we are.
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Just go to a restaurant, watch people sitting in a booth,
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sitting around a chair. All the phones are on the table
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or in their hands. Why?
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Because what's going to happen on that phone is more important
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than what's going to happen across from me on the table.
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So if you're out on a date, ladies, and you're with a man
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and he has his phone out on the table, recognize that whatever
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is going to pop up with that phone is more important than you
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across the table from him. That's just send a loud and
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clear message to you that this guy is not that into you.
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He's more into what's going to happen on his phone and who's
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going to contact him. That's very important to realize
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this and it's and it's convenient and it's easy.
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It is today to communicate with people.
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It's very difficult to connect with people.
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Why is that? Because you got to be
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vulnerable, you got to be personable.
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And as time goes on in the church, we are less and less
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personable and we are separating ourselves one from another.
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That's why we don't necessarily have to greet one another with a
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holy kiss, but to be able to, to be kindly affectionate toward
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one another and to be able to embrace one another and express
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our love one for another, face to face, is so incredibly
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important. And so not only do we engage in
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prayer one for another, but we are to ensure affection one for
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another and #3 enact the reading of God's Word.
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Paul says that this way in chapter 5 he says these words.
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I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read to all the
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brethren. One thing you need to do is read
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the Bible. You don't have to necessarily
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study the Bible, although you should.
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You should at least read the Bible because reading does all
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kinds of things. In our lives.
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We miss this. We know that Paul has already
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said in chapter 2 verse #13 that God's work effectively works in
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those who believe. So if the reading of God's Word
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is important, and Paul told Timothy in first Timothy 4 verse
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#13 give yourself to the reading of the text, to the instructing
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of the text and the teaching of the text, but give yourself to
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the reading of it. There's something about reading
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the Bible that's very, very important.
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And I hear people all the time say, well, well, I read that
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chapter or I read that book, and I didn't get anything out of it.
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And they don't understand that that's a commentary on them, not
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the Bible. Because when you're looking and
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reading the scriptures, you're looking to see and understand
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the character nature of God. But we approach the scriptures
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because we have a certain need or a certain one.
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We want God to meet that need. So we read a a passage or a
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chapter or a book and well, that didn't really meet my needs.
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So I guess the Bible really is not relevant to where I am
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today, but it is because the need you have before you is not
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nearly as the need above you. And the need above you is God,
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and you need Him more than you need that which is around you.
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But we forget that. So you you need to come to
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understand who your God is, what He has done, and the more you
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do, the more you realize how much you truly love Him.
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Just a simple reading of the word.
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Paul would say the same thing in Colossians chapter 4 when he
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said when this epistle is read among you, very important
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reading is a lost art today among those in America and
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around the world. We don't like to read much like
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to read in snippets, short little essays, but but to
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actually read the Bible, people don't like to do that.
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In fact, I was I was thinking about that this past week and I
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I went back to Psalm 119 and I realized that just the cursory
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reading of the of Psalm 119 does so much in our lives.
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Psalmist begins Psalm 119 this way.
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How blessed are those whose way is blameless who walk in the law
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of the Lord. How blessed are those who
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observe his testimonies, who seek him with all their heart.
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There there is a certain blessing that comes through
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observing the testimonies of God, but it only comes to those
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who read, look, observe what is written.
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But the blessing does come with a simple observation of the
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text. He does talking about how
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blessed is a man who who studies day and night at the word of
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God. He does talk about meditating
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day and night. Here he's just talking about
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those who observe the statues, something that comes to them, a
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blessing, a reward. The Bible says, I shall run the
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way of your commandments, for you will enlarge my heart.
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There's something about reading the commandments of God that
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does something to my heart. It makes it long for God and
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seek after God. He says in verse #37 Turn away
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my eyes from looking at vanity, and revive me in your ways.
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When I read the word of God, it causes my eyes to turn away from
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that which is vain, that which is empty, that which is futile,
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that which makes absolutely no difference.
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He says in verse #93 I will never forget your precepts, for
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by then them you have revived me.
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Revival comes because I do not forget what God has said.
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Well, how do I know what God has said?
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It's because I read what God has said.
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The psalmist knows that in order for his soul to be revived, this
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is what happens. It says I have restrained my
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feet from every evil way that I may keep your word.
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In other words, when when I read the Word of God, it restrains my
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feet from going the evil way. It's just a simple reading of
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the Scripture. The observation of the
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Scripture, the looking at the Scripture, will do a marvelous
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work in the life of the believer.
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Paul knows that. So he says, I want this epistle
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to be read among you. I want you to read it over and
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over and over again. You know, it's like when you
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receive a, a letter from a loved one.
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Of course we don't receive letters anymore.
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We get emails and and texts. But in the olden days, when I
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was growing up, we used to have to write letters to people,
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right? You had to really write a thank
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you note to people. And sometimes when you, when you
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got a letter from your loved 1, you just kept it and you read it
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over and over and over again. Because the words which they had
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said, I, I've kept cards from my wife from years ago, years ago
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that she has written to me. And every once in a while I'll
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just go back from, through those cards and read what she said.
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And then I want to go back to her when she's mad at me and
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say, Hey, this is what you said. Remember that 10 years ago?
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No, I don't do that. But the bottom line is, is that
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it just go back and read those things.
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It's so powerful. Well, that's just a that's not
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the inspired word of God. That's just a a note from my
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wife. But the inspired word of God,
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you read it over and over again. It never gets old.
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It never it's crusty, it never becomes routine.
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It's a life giving, life breathing word of the living
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God. So engage in prayer for one
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another, ensure affection one toward another #3 enact the
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reading of the Word of God. And lastly, enjoy the grace of
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God. Paul began by talking about
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grace in chapter 1, and he ends talking about grace in chapter
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5. God's grace is undeserved,
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unmeasurable, unearned, and unrepayable.
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God's favor upon fallen man is unbelievable.
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So how do you enjoy the grace of God #1 Abide in the God of
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grace. Abide in the God of grace.
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This is what Christ said in John 15.
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I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser.
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Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away.
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In every branch that bears fruit he prunes it so that it may bear
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more fruit. You are already clean because of
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the word which I have spoken to you.
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So abide. Remain in me, and I in you.
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As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in
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the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me.
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Remain steadfast with me. Abide in the God of grace.
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You want to enjoy the grace of God.
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Abide in the God of grace, because from Him comes that
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which you do not deserve. And then not only do you abide
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in the grace of God, but you also approach the throne of
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grace. That's Hebrews 415 and 16.
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You approach the throne of grace.
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We're to come boldly before the throne of grace that we might
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receive mercy and grace to help in time of need.
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You want to enjoy the grace of God.
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Abide in the God of grace. Approach the throne of grace,
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and then #3 make sure that you apply the message of grace.
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Paul says in Acts at the 20 verse #32 I commend you to God
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in the word of His grace, which is able to build you up.
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Paul says, look, I'm leaving you, but I'm going to give you
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the word of His grace because this is what's going to build
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you, sustain you, stabilize you, secure you, strengthen you.
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So I commend you to God in the word of His grace, which is able
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to build you up. So you need to apply the message
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of grace because God's Word is the word that gives the message
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about grace. So abide in the God of grace,
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approach the thought of grace, apply the message of grace, and
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then #4 understand this, that you are to articulate with words
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of grace, articulate with words of grace.
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Colossians chapter 4. Paul says this in verse number
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six. Let your speech always be with
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grace, seasoned with salt, articulate with words of grace.
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That's why you would say in Ephesians 4, Let no unwholesome
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word proceed out of your mouth. None, but only the kind of words
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that are useful for building someone up.
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When we articulate the with the words of grace, we are actually
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doing something in someone's life that will enable them to
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understand the beauty of God's grace.
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Think about your conversation with your wife this morning, or
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your husband, or your children. Were they words of grace, words
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of kindness, words that would move them on to maturity?
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Or were they bitter, angry words?
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Were they yelling words? Were they the kind of words that
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that that you would be ashamed of had they been put on a screen
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for announcements this morning in church?
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Here's #5 5 is really good, and that is you need to accept the
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hand of grace, abide in the God of grace, approach the throne of
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grace, apply the message of grace, articulate with words of
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grace, but accept, accept God's hand of grace.
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This is hard, but let me read to you what that great Old
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Testament character did and said, Joseph in Genesis chapter
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45. Joseph had just revealed
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themselves to his brothers. They did not recognize him, but
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when he finally revealed himself, it says this verse 4 of
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Genesis 45. Then Joseph said to his
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brothers, please come closer to me.
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And they came closer. And he said, I am your brother
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Joseph, whom listen carefully, you sold into Egypt, whom you
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sold into Egypt. Now listen carefully.
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Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold
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me here comma for God sent me before you to preserve life.
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You sold me. God sent me.
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What a what an incredible way to explain all of his turmoil.
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You sold me, but God sent me. This is this.
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This is so good, he says, for the famine has been in the land
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these two years, and there are still five years in which there
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will be neither plowing nor harvesting for seven.
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God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in
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the earth and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.
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You sold me. God sent me that I might save
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you. That is a great perspective.
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He says verse 8 Now therefore it was not you who sent me here,
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but God don't take credit for for what's going to happen here
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because you sold me and you sent me here because it was God who
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sent me. You sold me.
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God sent me that I might save you.
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He says He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and Lord of all his
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household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
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Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, Thus says your son
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Joseph, God has made me Lord of all Egypt.
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He accepted God's hand of grace long before he was ever made
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Lord of Egypt. He accepted God's hand of grace
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when he was sold into slavery. He accepted God's hand of grace
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when he was thrown into a pit. He accepted God's hand of grace
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when he was raised to a level of supremacy in Potiphar's
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Potiphar's house. He accepted the hand of grace
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when Potiphar's wife lied about him.
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He was thrown into prison. It was all about accepting God's
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hand of grace. So it's all said and done.
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You meant it for evil, God meant it for good.
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And God saved two nations, the nation of Egypt and the nation
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of Israel. What you meant for evil, God had
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greater purposes. You sold me, God sent me so that
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I might save you. What a perspective.
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In the moment, it's hard to accept the hand of grace, isn't
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it? So Peter says in first Peter 5
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verse #6 humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.
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What's the mighty hand of God? The mighty hand of God is a a
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phrase from the Old Testament that's used in the book of
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Genesis and the book of Exodus to speak of God's mighty hand of
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of discipline, God's mighty hand of destiny.
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His hand was always used in the discipline of Israel and the
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destiny of Israel. Peter picks up on that, says,
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now I want you to humble yourselves under God's mighty
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hand of discipline, God's mighty hand of destiny, because with
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that mighty hand comes God's deliverance.
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But you must accept the hand of God's grace.
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You want to enjoy the grace of God, abide in the God of grace.
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Approach the throne of grace. Make sure that you apply the
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message of grace so that you can articulate with words of grace
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and then accept the hand of grace.
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And lastly, this would be #6 accomplish your ministry with
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grace. Paul said this in Ephesians
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chapter 3 verse #7 I was made a minister according to the gift
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of God's grace. I was made a minister according
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to God's gracious gift of his favor.
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So you accomplish your ministry with grace.
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And what is your ministry? Number one?
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Your marriage, right? Your marriage is your ministry
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#2 your family #3 the sphere of influence.
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Wherever God's placed you, whatever your work environment
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is, that's where God placed you. That's your ministry.
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And so you can only accomplish that through the grace that God
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supplies. That's why the poem was written.
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Lord, I am willing to receive. What you give, I'm willing to
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lack. What you withhold I'm willing to
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relinquish. What you take, I'm willing to
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suffer. What you inflict, I'm willing to
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be. Whatever you require.
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Is that you? That's what Paul wants, for us
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to enjoy the grace of God. Let's pray.
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Father, we thank you for today, One more opportunity for us to
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hear what Your Word says. Thank you for the opportunity to
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study this epistle. It's been very convicting, very
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challenging, at times very confrontive, but always very
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comforting because it is the Word of God.
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My prayer for all of us, Lord, is that we would truly, we would
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truly ensure affection one for another.
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Enjoy the grace that you you offer and pray that we would
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truly enact and engage in prayer one for another, that we live
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out this epistle that you wrote so many years ago to the pen of
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the Apostle Paul. We have read it.
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We have studied it. Help us Lord to apply it by your
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grace and for your glory in Jesus name, Amen.