(1Th 5:12) “ And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;”   Most of us are so proud, that if our pastor should admonish us, we would leave the church. We do not walk humbly before our God and man. Did you know that the Bible never uses the word, “proud”, in a positive way? It is always sinful. We speak of having “pride in ourselves” as if it is a good thing. Pride is of the devil. Our Lord walked in humility. “It is enough for a man to be as His Lord…..”

 (1Th 5:12) “ And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;”  This speaks directly of our relationship to our pastor(s). We are to get to know them. Period. We are to have more than a “Hi it’s Sunday” relationship. These men are our shepherds. They are even to admonish us when necessary and are able to do so through the relationship we have taken the time to build with them. Since we have already been commanded to love the brethren, it is not wrong to say we are to love our pastor(s).  

(1Th 5:11)  “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”   I cannot help but wonder if we practice edifying. Do we seek to encourage others in our conversations? Gossip does not edify. It tears down. Politics can bring a person down faster than anything. Do we look for the good in others and comment upon it? Lord help us to seek to lift others up in every conversation in sincerity and truth.

(1Th 5:11)  “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”  How often do each of us take this word “comfort” to a degree not pleasing to God. Here is what I mean: the person we are seeking to comfort has not done right and we talk around it rather than being honest. Have we helped them in the way pleasing to the Lord? Does the Lord deal in lies or in truth? We are to  (Eph 4:15) “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:” We don’t wish to hurt their feelings, but silence is agreement in the heart of the other person. We have not helped and truly comforted if we have not represented our Lord with truth. 

(1Th 5:11)  “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”  I remind you this is written to (1Th 1:1)  “Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians…..”  If you forsake God’s plan through the local New Testament Church and lie to yourself saying, “I can worship anywhere – at home, in a park, etc.” then you are disobedient to God and rob yourself and others of what is written in verse 11. Our Lord said He would build His church. God’s plan is through the church where He provided pastors and teachers and bestowed gifts upon his people to minister. Any other method of seeking to be “spiritual” to the casting away of faithful attendance is disobedience and will not be blessed. We will each give an account of ourselves before Him. Ask yourself if your excuse will hold water.

 (1Th 5:5) “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. (6)  Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.  AND  (1Th 5:10) “Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.”  Context proves this is written to the saved, Children of Light. The call is to watch and be sober, living for His glory (faith), seeking the souls of others (love). Verse 10 proves it is not the watching, the obedience that saves – salvation is already possessed (again, Children of Light), we will live together with Him. That fact should not keep us from being obedient, but should motivate our hearts to obedience.

 (1Th 5:9) “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,”   Since we are “appointed”, already given, heaven instead of hell, we are to live like it! We are to live in this present world as those appointed to salvation: wise as to living in the last days, the tremendous wrath and devastation of the Tribulation Period before us; by faith hold to the truths revealed in the Bible; in love looking past each person’s outward offense to the very need of their soul.

(1Th 5:8) “But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.”   Put on the breastplate of faith and love. How does love protect the heart; when we love greatly we can be hurt greatly?  Answer: love is not an emotion as much as a determination that no matter what the response from another, we will obey the command of God to love. Love does not look after self, but is focused upon the best for someone else. That focus protects our heart, for we are neither disappointed nor upset by their response, for it is their good not ours we are seeking.

 (1Th 5:8) “But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.”  Put on the breastplate – protect your heart. Faith protects the heart, for faith believes all the Lord has said and stands upon it: “I will never leave nor forsake thee”; “Thou shalt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed (focused) on Thee”; etc.. It seems that a lot of those professing faith have a head knowledge of Scripture that doesn’t reach the heart to stay. Their heart remains exposed to unbelief, the greatest of insults of God.   

(1Th 5:8) “But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.”  “The hope of salvation”: the word “hope” is not to be understood in the same way it is used today. We “hope” for things that may or may not happen – I hope to win the Reader’s Digest drawing. “Hope” in Scripture means “a looking for a sure coming event”. I place that helmet on my head letting it guide my thoughts and actions.