Sobriety, Part 4 (1 Thessalonians 5)

Then the third thing is this, you’ve got to protect the body. You see that in Verse 11, it says “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.” The New Testament church is repeatedly referred to as the body of Christ. If you are a follower of Christ you are member of Christ’s body the church. As we congregate together with one another one of our primary ministries to one another is the ministry of encouragement. The term means to call a person to the side and comfort them. We are not to discourage one another; we are to encourage one another. Paul says we protect the body by building each another up. The exact opposite is tearing one another down. So we are to uplift one another, help one another in this spiritual battle that we face.
I’ve been reading Zephaniah in my quiet times, you know there is a passage of scripture that says that there is going to come a time when people are going to stand up, shoulder to shoulder and serve the Lord. You and I are not called to serve Christ alone. If you are a part of this body of the Lord, you have a role to play and when you get in and begin to play that role it helps build up the entire church. But if you don’t play your role guess what you do, you drag us down. Could you imagine being the person that’s dragging the whole church down?
We protect the body. We take care of the body. The reality is every single one of us face difficulties. Every single one of us, we face doubt. Every single one of us, we face sin. Listen, we are not called to try and overcome this battle by ourselves. You come and you help. I come and I help. And we help primarily through using and expressing the gifts that God has given us in the body of Christ. When we use these that is what gives us strength. That is what enables us to avoid the dark and not blink. So we all fight together on the frontlines to advance the kingdom of heaven.
So I want to encourage you this morning by way of conclusion. Where are you? Are you in the dark? Come back to the light. Are you saved with sin in your life? Get rid of it. Is there doubt? Nail it down. Let God today transform you so when you leave here, you leave here consumed with the reality that Christ is coming. Christ is coming and we need to be ready for him. And listen to this, we also need to help others get ready for it. So avoid the dark and don’t blink.
Let’s have our heads bowed and eyes closed. Nobody looking around this morning. Some of you need to give your heart to Jesus Christ this morning. So I want to invite you right where you are, if you need to give your life to Christ, if you need to be changed. I want to invite you this morning to just ask the Lord to forgive you of your sin. Tell him that you are placing your trust in what he has done for you on a cross at Calvary. Tell him now you want to live for him.
With your heads bowed and your eyes closed this morning if you need to give the Lord Jesus Christ your heart or perhaps you’ve done so this week or this morning. In a moment we are going to stand to our feet. I’m going to invite you to come forward and take me by the hand. I want to pray with you and pray for you. Help you along in your spiritual journey. Some of you are coming. I’ve already talked to you. Some of you this morning need to come. You’ve wrestled with it all week long; you’ve wrestled with it a few weeks, today you need to nail it down. Give your life to Christ. Die to yourself and live for him.
On the same hand, God may just be calling for you to get out of the dark. You are a follower of Christ but there are some things that are tripping you up, that hanging you up. This morning you need to turn from that, trust the Lord and live sober. So perhaps the Lord’s calling you this morning to make that decision. Maybe Gods calling you to join this church family, whatever the case is I want to invite you to be obedient to the Lord Jesus during this particular time.
Father I thank you for being with us today and speaking to us through the scripture and I pray heavenly father that we would indeed be consumed with our salvation. Consumed with the fact that you are coming again and sober to the reality that people around us are not ready. Help us to share the good news with them. Father today I pray for this time of invitation as people prepare in their hearts to make decisions. I pray you give them boldness. I pray ultimately that Lord, you would continue to use our church family as we seek to do your will.
With your heads bowed and your eyes closed lets just stand to our feet all across the building. As Eric sings for us I want to invite you to come. Christians you’re praying this morning. So if God’s calling you, you’ve given your heart to him, you want to join this church family I want to invite you to come this morning. Won’t you come?