https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ChristiansDutyToHisBrethren.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: I Thessalonians 5:8-15<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. Each of us come from diverse backgrounds. <\/p>\n
A. We come together to worship<\/p>\n
B. We come together for fellowship<\/p>\n
C. Yet that coming together is not always smooth. <\/p>\n 1. Just as a family experiences times of irritation, so it happens among\nbrethren.\n 2. Paul’s desire was for the Corinthians to be of the same mind – I\nCorinthians 1:10\n
3. Yet, the reality was they had divided – I Corinthians 11:17-18<\/p>\n D. A common thread running through the New Testament letters is instruction\nconcerning how brethren overcome their differences to work as one.\n E. We will use Paul’s instructions in I Thessalonians 5:8-15 to learn how we many\njoin together.\n
II. Encourage or comfort<\/p>\n
A. The word literally means to call near<\/p>\n B. It is a gift that some are especially good at giving – Romans 12:6-8. Yet it is\nsomething that none of us may forego.\n 1. Paul spent much of journey to various congregations encouraging the\nbrethren – Acts 20:1-2\n C. The encouragement is not a vague notion of making brethren feel better about\nthemselves\n
1. After all the wicked encourage each other into further wickedness.<\/p>\n
2. Paul urged brethren to dedicate themselves to God – Romans 12:1<\/p>\n
3. Paul urged them to strive in prayer, to do what is right – Romans 15:30<\/p>\n 4. Paul encouraged brethren to receive and follow instruction – I\nThessalonians 4:1\n
5. To apply Christ’s teachings to their personal lives – II Thessalonians 3:12-13<\/p>\n 6. The better feeling comes as a result, because brethren see that they have\ndone something that is worthwhile.\n
a. Too often people want the feeling without the effort.<\/p>\n
b. Or they want the feeling first to motivate their effort.<\/p>\n
c. It is the accomplishment that gives the feeling of joy.<\/p>\n
D. Encourage the fainthearted – I Thessalonians 5:14<\/p>\n
1. Literally the “small soul”, the timid<\/p>\n
2. How Paul did this – I Thessalonians 2:7-12<\/p>\n
III. Edification<\/p>\n
A. Seek the good for each other<\/p>\n
1. Seek peace and the building of each other up – Romans 14:19<\/p>\n
2. Galatians 6:9-10 – Do good to all men<\/p>\n
B. Help the weak<\/p>\n 1. The duty of the strong is to support the weak by the means of building\nthem up – Romans 15:1-3\n 2. Any idea of supporting the weak that leaves them weak is of no benefit.\nThe goal is to improve them so that they may become strong.\n a. Imagine a person too weak to pick up a box. We can approach the\nproblem in one of two ways:\n (1) We can do everything for them. The tasks are done, but the\nperson remains weak.\n (2) Or we help them become stronger, so they may eventually\ndo those tasks on their own.\n
b. Which is better?<\/p>\n 3. Support and help to the weak doesn’t mean selecting the easiest path. It\nmeans helping each other through hard times. Encouraging each other to\nendure – Hebrews 12:11-13\n a. Some of us take exercise classes. How do the instructors of these\nclasses help the students?\n b. They encourage them to push themselves, to reach a little bit\nfurther, to give a bit more effort.\n c. Sure, the exercises are scaled down at first, but they are always set\nto reach a bit beyond where the students are.\n d. If we understand this on a physical level, why do we leave our\nbrethren as spiritual babes?\n
IV. Appreciate those who labor among you<\/p>\n
A. Every worker wants to know that his labors are appreciated.<\/p>\n B. It is not just the weak who need encouragement. The strong need a pat on the back\nperiodically.\n
C. Make the effort easier<\/p>\n
1. I Corinthians 16:13-18 – Acknowledge such men<\/p>\n
2. Philippians 2:25-30 – Hold such men in high regard<\/p>\n
3. Good elders are to be well honored – I Timothy 5:17<\/p>\n
4. Make the elder’s work a joy and not a burden – Hebrews 13:17<\/p>\n D. We correctly realize that all Christians are equals before God. We understand that\nthe best of us are those who serve. Yet, we get in a mind-set that we must keep the\nservants in their place.\n 1. These are men whose service makes up for the lack of their brethren’s\nefforts. These are the strong who are baring their own burdens and their\nbrethren’s.\n
2. We cannot take them for granted.<\/p>\n 3. What happens when they need help? Few are willing to take on the\nchallenge of work that isn’t appreciated.\n 4. We all need to go on and show appreciation for those who labor on our\nbehalf. When we don’t, jobs are left undone. People won’t volunteer to\nhelp.\n
V. Admonish the unruly<\/p>\n
A. Purity must be strived for because Satan remains at work<\/p>\n
1. Later Paul tells us to examine everything carefully – I Thessalonians 5:21-22<\/p>\n
2. John says much the same thing – I John 4:1<\/p>\n 3. Even among brethren, we know that people will be persuaded to follow\nerror – I Timothy 4:1\n 4. Yet we seem to be surprised when it happens in our midst among people\nwe know.\n
B. Do not return evil for evil<\/p>\n
1. We battle evil with good – Romans 12:17-21<\/p>\n
2. The sum of it all – I Peter 3:8-12<\/p>\n
VI. Live in peace<\/p>\n
A. Pursue peace and sanctification – Hebrews 12:14<\/p>\n
B. How good to have brethren in unity – Psalms 133:1<\/p>\n
C. Christ commanded that we love each other – John 13:34<\/p>\n
D. We must put effort into preserving this unity in peace – Ephesians 4:3<\/p>\n
E. We must be people who make peace – James 3:18<\/p>\n
F. Be patient with all men – I Thessalonians 5:13-14<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Thessalonians 5:8-15 I. Each of us come from diverse backgrounds. A. We come together to worship B. We come together for fellowship C. Yet that coming together is not always smooth. 1. Just as a family experiences times of irritation, so it happens among brethren. 2. Paul’s desire was for the Corinthians to be…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[642,1059,357,253,454,456],"class_list":["post-52591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-christianity","tag-edification","tag-encouragement","tag-fellowship","tag-peace","tag-unity"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":61320,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-buildings-assembly-halls-and-fellowship-halls\/","url_meta":{"origin":52591,"position":0},"title":"Notes on Buildings, Assembly Halls, and Fellowship Halls","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 10, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Assemblies The church is commanded to come together for the purpose of worship and encouragement - I Corinthians 11:18, 20, 33; Hebrews 10:25 The purpose of coming together as a church is specifically separated from eating meals - I Corinthians 11:22, 34 Fellowship Fellowship is a state of being. It\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":57513,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-fellowship-with-someone-who-left-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":52591,"position":1},"title":"Do you fellowship with someone who left the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If someone leaves the church and you try to encourage them to come back, are you to fellowship with them? Answer: Fellowship describes the state of a relationship between two people. It is like the word \"friendship.\" Friends do things together, but just because you do something with another\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16766,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-dont-think-god-is-against-a-fellowship-that-can-supply-nutrition-to-visitors\/","url_meta":{"origin":52591,"position":2},"title":"I don’t think God is against a fellowship that can supply nutrition to visitors","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 4, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If your church has no kitchen etc, then how do you share communion together?\u00a0 Do you take everything home to wash? Did not Jesus share communion with the apostles? I do not think that God is against a fellowship that can supply nutrition to visitors. I find it strange\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7357,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-watching-a-church-service-an-acceptable-way-to-worship\/","url_meta":{"origin":52591,"position":3},"title":"Is watching a church service an acceptable way to worship?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Jeffrey, This has become popular with people. Is the video sermon a new way to worship God?\u00a0 I do not like it and don\u2019t understand how it\u2019s right. Do you find scripture to support it because I can\u2019t? Thank you again and always. Answer: \"They were continually devoting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19369,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-we-have-meals-in-the-building-since-eating-together-is-an-expression-of-fellowship\/","url_meta":{"origin":52591,"position":4},"title":"Can we have meals in the building since eating together is an expression of fellowship?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 7, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Someone has been arguing with me about fellowship and they say it is okay to have meals together in the building because eating together is an expression of fellowship. He says, \"If eating together and having fun together is not an expression of fellowship, then what is it?\" He\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":95047,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/courtesy-and-fellowship\/","url_meta":{"origin":52591,"position":5},"title":"Courtesy and Fellowship","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Download Audio by Brent Paschall Draw Near to God","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52591\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}