Please turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, as we read the chapter, the text being verses 16 through 18. In chapter 4, verse 13, Paul begins to talk about the coming of the Lord, about how His coming will be, with a loud command, the voice of the archangel, the trumpet call of God, and giving the people comfort about what will happen to God's people at that time, both those who have already died in the Lord and those who are still alive at His coming. Then he continues on with that theme in chapter 5, and then moving on into his final instructions for the church. Beginning at verse 1 of chapter 5, hear now the word of the Lord. Now, brothers, about times and dates, we do not need to write to you, For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, peace and safety, destruction will come on them suddenly as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness, so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then let us not be like others who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night. And those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate. And the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath, but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him. Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up just as in fact you are doing. Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle. Encourage the timid. Help the weak. Be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong. But always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit's fire. Do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. Brothers, pray for us. Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Be joyful always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Beloved of the Lord Jesus Christ, when you compare people from different countries and different cultures, it doesn't take very long to figure out that different cultures have different characteristics. For example, different languages are spoken, maybe different foods or different kinds of foods are eaten, different styles of clothing are worn, Morals and values can be radically different. Very simply, people in this culture live differently than people in that culture. And these differences can also be reflected in the actions and the attitudes of the people. But you know, the same thing is true when the Christian, the Christ follower, is compared to the world. To the unbeliever. There are certain characteristics that are to shape the Christian's manner of living in the world. And this is Paul's message. This was Paul's message to the young Thessalonian church in chapter 5 here. This was a church that the Lord had given birth to through Paul and Silas and Timothy. And it was made up of many converts from heathenism and idol worship who had turned to Christianity. Pardon me. And they had been so faithful by the grace of God that Paul says in chapter 2, verses 19 and 20, For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy. What Paul is saying there, that that which gives to him glory as well, is that this people, when they heard the gospel message, they received it as it is, the word of God. not the Word of Man. By grace alone, through faith alone, they've been brought into the family of God. Yet, there were some problems in this young church caused by certain devout Jews who didn't take kindly to all of these new Christians. These devout Jews were the cause of much persecution of the Christians and they slandered Paul trying to undermine his God-given authority. And since many of these Christians were literally infants in the faith, these Jews worked hard to cause them to question in their newfound faith. Could it be true? Could all that we have learned be true? Could it be true that all of our sins are forgiven for the sake of the blood of Jesus? Could it be true that there's nothing that we can do or have done to earn our salvation, but instead it's a free gift from God? Could it be true that we have fellowship with God even in this life, through prayer, through His Word? Could it be true that life eternal is ours? And because of all of this, because of the Jews who were persecuting them, Paul's first letter to the church in Thessalonica was a letter of encouragement. And in a sense, Paul was telling these Christians that they were doing fine. And as he says in chapter 4, verse 1, to do this more and more, hold fast to what you have been taught and don't listen to those jealous Jews who do not have a Savior. but he also encourages them to not let persecution get them down. Persecution is necessary and can be expected, remember? He could say, I told you this when I was with you. In fact, in chapter 3, verses 2 through 4, he says that he sent Timothy to them to strengthen and encourage you in your faith so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted, And it turned out that way, as you well know. You understand it. You have experienced it. And then now in chapters 4 and 5, Paul commands the church in his gentle, loving way to stand firm and live as Christians are expected to live before the face of God. And in his final instructions, we read in verses 12 through 15 what their attitude is to be toward their leaders and fellow church members. We might say practical Christianity. And then in the text, we see what the Christian's inner attitude is to be toward God and how that attitude is to be expressed. You see, the Lord instructs us, beloved, regarding encouragement for consistent Christian living. And as the text points out, the Christian attitude includes joy and prayer and thanksgiving, but these things are to be consistent. They are to be ongoing, not on again, off again, or when we feel like it. And therefore, consistent Christian living is done with continual rejoicing, with constant prayer, and with comprehensive thanksgiving. First of all, with continual rejoicing. Paul says in verse 16, Be joyful always, or as another translation says, rejoice always. Now what's interesting is that this is not an option here. This is a command for the believer. And Paul is able to command it because rejoicing should be natural for the child of God. It should be natural like a spring bubbling forth again and again, ongoing. We know that joy arises from a feeling of some good, and in the Christian's case, it arises from the sense of God's love and favor. Well, what did this new church have to rejoice about? Paul tells them, very simply in chapter 1, verse 4, He has chosen you. Simple yet beautiful words. He has chosen you. God chose them to be the recipients of His grace in Jesus Christ. And all of the benefits merited for us by Christ. Including full and complete forgiveness. A new heart, a new sense of direction, new desires for God, life with God even here. And again, of course, eternal life. This is what all of God's people can and must rejoice in. All who believe in Jesus Christ by grace through faith have been chosen by God. And that means that consistent Christian living includes living in the comfort of His choosing. It means delighting to live for Him. It means desiring to obey Him. Beloved, there is joy in looking only to the Lord Jesus Christ, to the one and only Lord Jesus Christ. To be joyful always also means to be content in any and every situation that challenges us in this life. Now, I think we would all agree it's easy, isn't it, to be joyful always when things are going well, when everything is going good for us, When things are going our way and there's no problems, the job is good, the money is fine, I'm not arguing with anybody, it's easy to be joyful then. But that's not all that's included here. Be joyful always, again, means to be content in any and every situation that challenges us as well in this life. Again, this church, this young church, was being persecuted for righteousness' sake. It may have cost them their jobs. It may have cost them their businesses. It may have cost them their status in the community. It may have cost them their lives, yet they and their loved ones were to be of good cheer. How is that possible? Only by faith. True faith is the basis of good cheer in the midst of tragedies, loss, disappointments, and troubles. One can continually rejoice in God only by faith in God who orders all things for good through His sovereign control. The prophet Habakkuk said, Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food, Though the flock may be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls. In other words, though everything that can go wrong for me does go wrong, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. And then he says why. I will joy in the God of my salvation. Again, how is this possible? Only when one has that gracious confidence that as Paul says in Romans 8, nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of Christ, love of God. which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Of course, we all know that rejoicing in tribulation is not necessarily a jumping up and down for joy, is it? We don't often do that. But yet rejoicing in tribulation is to exercise a spirit of calmness in adversity and to not give way to uncontrollable, hopeless grief. Indeed, we grieve as God's people. We grieve when we lose a loved one, but not as those who have no hope. To rejoice in tribulation is, as Paul says to the Philippian church, to meditate on whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, whatever has any virtue, and if there is anything praiseworthy. See, the opposite is sorrow and grief, feeling sorry for oneself, hopelessly sorry for oneself. Now we know and we believe and we teach that the Christian experience is in conversion a heartfelt sorrow for sins. But there are many well-meaning Christians as well that believe that walking around in gloom and sorrow because of those sins, that that is true piety. But there's no strength in gloom. There's no strength in sorrow like that. That's only a part of piety. But true piety also includes knowing by the grace of God who God is, and knowing who I am in relation to Him, what I am in relation to Him. And then knowing as well what I am in Christ Jesus. A child of God. Beloved, there's no sorrow in that. There's no gloom in that. And that is a reason to be joyful always. As Nehemiah said, Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. See, beloved, when you have faith that you live out of the Heavenly Father's providential hand. Then and only then can you rejoice always. We know that Paul had this joy so much so that he and Silas were able to, and in fact they were heard praying and singing hymns to God at midnight as they were chained up as prisoners in the Philippian jail. And we know that Paul could count it all joy to suffer for Jesus' name. And as well he could confess in 2 Corinthians 4, We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed. We are perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed. Always caring about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. See, without faith. Without faith, one cannot rejoice, but instead feels crushed and in despair and forsaken and destroyed. Beloved, your ability to rejoice, even in the difficult situation of life, is a reflection of your faith. Someone once said, the further a soul stands from the light of truth, the further he must needs be from the heat of comfort. But if you believe on Jesus Christ by true faith, with a rejoicing spirit, you can say with confidence, whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say it is well with my soul. But then Paul continues with his encouragement for consistent Christian living by issuing the command for constant prayer. He says, pray continually. Now, what is prayer? We know what prayer is, don't we? We're blessed with that. Prayer is that tool or that means that God has given to His people to worship Him, bringing before Him our heart's desire, including praise and adoration of His holy name. including thanksgiving for His goodness and His mercy, including confession of our sin, including bringing our needs before His throne of grace, and as well including intercession on behalf of others. Prayer is communion with and communication between God and His people. And constant prayer, beloved, is one way of rejoicing always. Prayer is necessary always and in all circumstances. It is an indispensable link. in the chain reaching from heaven to earth. Prayer is a sign of spiritual life. It's not our purpose this morning to discuss what is proper and improper prayer. We covered that somewhat on Wednesday evening in our annual day of prayer, day of service. We talked about the fact that the characteristics of true prayer include that prayer is faithful from the heart to the one true God. It is humble. Understanding that I deserve nothing. I do not deserve to be heard of God. That's trusting. Trusting that God will indeed hear me for the sake of Jesus Christ. And we must add that true prayer that is according to God's will, beloved, is a sign of spiritual life. It is the breath of the soul. A person who doesn't pray is a person who isn't breathing, in a sense. And is therefore a spiritual corpse. You see, beloved, when everything physical could be taken away from Christians, I think we know this, but we don't think about this enough, but when everything physical could be taken away from Christians, the church building, our Bibles, even our freedom to worship, our lives, everything physical could be taken away from us, yet prayer can never be taken away from God's people. And that alone must just fill us with incredible joy. Never to be separated from our God. That gift of prayer can never, will never be taken away. How precious that must be to us. And therefore, Paul says, pray continually. We confess in Lord's Day 45 that God gives His grace and Holy Spirit only to those who pray continually and groan inwardly, asking God for these gifts and thanking Him for them. God hears and listens to His people through prayer and God blesses those who express their desire through prayer for His blessing. And prayer is offered to God in both adversity and in prosperity. There we have it again. Remember, rejoicing always is easy in good times, difficult in bad times. With prayer, it's the opposite. isn't it? Many people fall to their knees when times are tough and our joy is attacked and threatened and that's definitely necessary. That's what we are to do. In prayer we lay our burdens and our anxieties into the bosom of the Lord as David commands in Psalm 55 verse 22 when he says, Cast your burden on the Lord and He shall sustain you. He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. But you see, we must also fall to our knees when we experience good times, giving thanks to the Giver of every good and perfect gift. Acknowledging who it is that gives to us all the blessings we enjoy. Consistent Christian living includes constant prayer, unceasing prayer in all situations of life. Now, is this talking about being on our knees with our heads bowed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day throughout the year? No, it's not. That's not practical, is it? But it is talking about having our hearts bowed, in a sense, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year in our life. Continually means, for example, to participate in regular times of prayer. Daniel's custom was three times a day. But it also means to live in the presence of God in such a way that we are always to be fit and ready to approach God in meaningful prayer. It means to pray spontaneously at any time, whether in need or, again, simply to praise and to thank God. When in your car, or washing dishes, or in your office, or in PE class, or whenever, or wherever. Paul is talking about having a holy tendency for prayer. Or to be inclined toward prayer by the grace of God. Boys and girls, think of a bird. We all know that a bird is not always flying. We've all tried to catch them, haven't we? But they're always ready to fly at any instant. They're gone. And so too the Christian must be with prayer. He must always be prepared to fly for refuge to God. But this means, congregation, that prayer, constant prayer, must be practiced. We sing, prayer is the soul's sincere desire, unuttered or expressed. If you don't have that desire, then you must answer the question, am I nothing more than a spiritual corpse? And even though we may not receive what we pray for immediately, or even not at all, consistent Christian living includes, finally, comprehensive thanksgiving. Paul says give thanks in all circumstances, even when our prayers are not answered in the way that we want. It's quite a command, again, thinking of this congregation of Thessalonica, it's quite a command to be given to someone who is suffering persecution at that very moment. How is thanks to be given to God? Well, through how we live to be sure. Our lives are to be lives of thanksgiving and praise to God. Demonstration of thanksgiving, but largely also through prayer. We are to say it. Express it with our heart and with our lips. Psalm 50 verse 14 says, Offer to God thanksgiving and pay your vows to the Most High. And that's why we confess in the catechism that prayer is the chief part of thankfulness, which God requires of us. Prayer to God and thanksgiving to God go together. The late William Hendrickson said, When a person prays without giving thanks, he has clipped the wings of prayer so that it cannot rise. One cannot truly make supplication and bring their petitions and intercession before God without first thanking Him for who He is and what He has already done. And again, this thanksgiving to God must be comprehensive. The text says, in all circumstances. Let's go back to rejoicing always the same thing. It's easy when things are going well, isn't it? How difficult it is to thank God for that death. To thank God for that diagnosis of cancer. To thank God for losing that job. Yet that's what it includes, beloved. It includes that. It includes affliction, trials, temptations, persecutions, sickness, poverty, even death. For in the midst of these things, as Romans 8 also lists tribulation, anguish, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword. In the midst of these things, believers are not merely conquerors, but by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, Believers are more than conquerors because God uses all of those things to cause Christians, even if unpleasant, to reach their predestined goal. And therefore we always, we always, we always, in every situation, can find a reason to thank and praise God. Awe doesn't mean it's going to be easy to find that reason, is it? It might be through many tears. It might be through much hardship. It might take a whole lot of digging. But there's always a reason to thank and praise God. Beloved, we need to learn the secret of the happy Christian life. Thankfulness to God in everything. But the truth is we are so quick. And I speak to myself here. We are so quick to grumble and complain and argue and feel cheated or left out. Instead of being joyful always and giving thanks in all circumstances, so often we are tempted to look for the negatives in life. Instead of being joyful always, and instead of building each other up, we often tear each other down. But if all things work together for good to those who love God, and we know they do because God says so in His Word, then how can we not be joyful? How can we not be filled with thanks? Even if we do not always see and feel the good right away, isn't there joy in anticipating that good? For example, boys and girls, most likely you get a gift for your birthday every year. You may not know what it is, but in the days before your birthday, you know that you might receive it. Again, you don't know what it will be, but you are filled with joy and filled with excitement in expecting something. I don't even think that goes away as an adult, does it? When our birthday is coming, we look forward to something a little special from our spouse, don't we? From our children. We look forward to that. We're excited about it. Christians are to live in expectation of God's good. And beloved, the beauty of it is that we already know what it is. We already know. Isn't that awesome? Consistent Christian living before the face of God includes continual rejoicing, constant prayer, and comprehensive thanksgiving for all of God's wonders through our Lord Jesus Christ and for that good that our God is preparing for His people through all of the events and circumstances of life through which He leads us. If, by the grace of God, we hold His benefits in such high esteem, then recognizing them and meditating upon them shall overcome all sorrow. If we truly consider what Jesus Christ has done and given to us, then there will be no bitterness or grief so intense that cannot be extinguished and replaced with joy. You see, it is impossible to be in God's kingdom and not have joy. Knowing and believing what Christ has done, but not placing a high value on His righteousness and the hope of eternal life so that you can rejoice in the midst of sorrow is instead to show ungratefulness to God. Consistent Christian living can only be accomplished by consistent communion with God. And that is done through His Word and prayer as we come together for worship each Lord's Day, but also in the privacy of our own home. And the more that one communes with the Lord, the more he will have reason to rejoice and the more he will desire to give thanks. Is this something that we can do on our own or that we will to do on our own? Absolutely not. Left to ourselves, apart from Jesus Christ, our only desire is to follow the selfish, sinful ways of the world. But Paul says here, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. It's God's will. Consistent Christian living with our attitude properly focused on God is His will for His people who have been redeemed by the blood of the perfect Lamb, Jesus Christ. And God sees to it that His will is accomplished by the power of His Spirit. That means we cannot fail. We cannot fail. Beloved, have you ever thought about what heaven will be like? One word that describes heaven is worship. And worship there will include continual rejoicing, constant prayer, and comprehensive thanksgiving. And this life is to be the believer's training ground for eternal life, complete with worship, which is a foretaste, maybe a small foretaste, but a foretaste, nonetheless, of eternal glory. And therefore, be careful, if you don't like church, If you don't like worship, you won't like heaven. And I read somewhere that prayer is the language of heaven. If you don't learn to speak that language here, then you won't be able to speak it there. And if you won't speak it here, you'll not have the opportunity to speak it there. The boys and girls sing that song celebrating Christ's birth away in the manger. And one of the stanzas says, Be near me, Lord Jesus. I ask thee to stay close by me forever and love me, I pray. Bless all the dear children in thy tender care and fit us for heaven to live with thee there. Fit us. Make us fit for heaven. May that be our prayer, beloved, more every day by the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. Prepare me, O Lord. Fit me today in this life for heaven to live with Thee there. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, indeed, may that be our heart's desire that you would continue to work powerfully by the sanctifying influence of your Holy Spirit to fit us for heaven, to prepare us for heaven, to live with you there through continual rejoicing, constant prayer, and comprehensive thanksgiving. May we never forget, O Lord, even in the midst of the difficult situations of life, may we never forget the beauty and the joy of our Lord Jesus Christ and His salvation earned and freely given to us. Instead, Father, may it be that You would make us stronger in that most holy faith, that we might walk before the face of God and before this world as those who indeed live the Christian life consistently for Your glory from day to day. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray these things. Amen.