Friday, February 16, 2007

P.E.A.C.E

Taken from 01 Aug 2004 sermon at TPBC by Pst Nelson Ong.
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28


Brief Summary on the book of Thessalonians:
Chapter 1 –
Praise the church for their faith.
Became imitators of the missionaries.
Became models to all the churches.

Chapter 2 –
Thank God for the fruitful labour.

Chapter 3 –
Wonderful Testimony of their faith & love

Chapter 4 –
Awaiting the 2nd coming of Christ.

Chapter 5 –
Do you have that P.E.A.C.E in God?

Pray for Church Leaders [v12-13]
It is dangerous when a church family takes their leaders for granted and fails to pray for them, work with them and encourage.
Accept them, Appreciate them, Love them, Respect them.
Hold them in highest regard – Warren Wiersbe.

Encourage the Timid [v14b]
The timid / feebleminded tend to look on the dark side of things and give up when the goings is tough.
Scold them? Punish them? Pressurize them? Tease them?
The Bible says ENCOURAGE them.
Encourage others by examples, humble beginning, kind words – cards, emails, sms, etc.
Be gracious (God is gracious).

Admonish the Idle [v14a]
Admonish the unruly – NASB
The unruly are those who are “out of line” and those who are “careless” or “lazy”.
The Bible says to admonish (correct) / warn the idle.
Do not sweettalk, pamper or cover up for them.
God’s word as yardstick – 2 Tim 3:16
Correction VS Condemnation – Matt 7:1
Blamelessness – Matt 18:15

Carry the Weak [v14]
Help the weak – The weak Christians are afraid of their liberty in Christ. They tend to major on the minor & miss out the big picture. Do not despise them, push too hard or be critical. Treat them with TLC (tender, loving, care).
To the weak, consider these:
Carry, Care, Coach
Empower them
Stand by them
Be patient with everyone and be kind to one another.

Experience God [v16-18]
A lot of Christians know that these verses very well but whenever they are hit by some problems, or struggles in life – they are not so joyful anymore. When they are depressed or sick – they do not quite thank God anymore. In fact, some struggle with God, some blame God, some deny God.

Submissive to God is essential in order to be joyful, display Christ-centredness [Gal 2:20] and lead a Spirit-filled life [Gal 5:25].
Be joyful, prayerful, thanksgiving, hold on to the good and avoid evil.

I need to work at P.E.A.C.E with God.

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