[This was delivered as a semi-scripted sermon; these notes represent the general drift of what was said.  Text in bold was shown on the screen]

‘Final instructions’

Not a random collection of odds and ends.  But a series of 17 quick-fire instructions, many of which are dealt with more fully in other letters by Paul and his associates.  (E.g. prophecy – 1 Cor 14).

There is a single overall theme:

Becoming the community God wants us to be.

There are three dimensions.

1. Honouring our leaders, vv12-13

They ‘work hard…are ‘over you in the Lord’…‘admonish you’.

A big ask!

Assumes plurality and diversity of leadership.

In the NT, leadership is multiple and varied.  The NT knows nothing of a ‘one-man band’.

Plurality exists already in our own church (wardens & Council).  Nevertheless, this might be relevant to our consideration of seeking a second ordained minister.

Diversity of leadership – ‘we ask you…we urge you’.  This letter sent under three names: ‘Paul, Silas and Timothy’.  Paul – highly trained, passionate, a born leader.  Silas – a 2^nd-half substitute for the team, after Paul and Barnabas fell out.  Timothy – young, fearful, but fiercely loyal.  Also Acts 13:1 (Antioch) – five ‘prophets and teachers from three different continents!.

Leaders should be complements, not clones, of one another, able to support one another as ‘critical friends’ (among other things).

‘Respect’ them…‘hold them in the highest regard in love’.

Let’s be encouragers, not grumblers.

‘Grumbling’ was one of Israel’s besetting sins.  ‘Our grumbling is the Devil’s music’.  ‘Grumbling and gratitude are incompatible. Be grateful and you won’t grumble. Grumble and you won’t be grateful.’

When things go wrong it’s rather tame
To find we are ourselves to blame,
It gets the trouble over quicker
To go and blame things on the Vicar.

 (John Betjeman)

Encouragement – adults, as well as children, need more praise than criticism if they are to flourish.

Let’s be builders, not wreckers.

I saw them tearing a building down,
A gang of men in a dusty town.
With ‘yo heave ho’ and a lusty yell,
They swung a beam and the side wall fell.

I asked the foreman if these men were skilled
As the men he’d hire, if he were to build.
He laughed and said, ‘Oh, no indeed.
Common labour is all I need.’

For those men can wreck in a day or two,
What builders had taken years to do.
I asked myself as I went my way,
Which kind of role am I to play?

Am I the builder who builds with care,
Measuring life by the rule and square?
Or am I the wrecker who walks the town,
Content with the role of tearing down?

(Source unknown)

2. Looking out for one another, v14-15

 Church as ‘family’ – ‘brothers and sisters’.

Paul: mother (2:7), father (2:11).

There will be tensions in any family:

• some are idle – ‘Warn them’.
• some are timid – ‘Encourage them’.
• some are weak – ‘Help them’.

‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’  Yes!

Assumes close ties with one another.  Example of Jesus: small group (disciples), communal meals (8 in Luke’s Gospel), meeting up for coffee (actually, a drink of water at a well!), early morning barbeque, going for long walks.

‘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.’

To be committed to Christ is to be committed to his people.

‘I love Jesus, but not the church’

‘To live above with saints we love,
Oh, that will be joy and glory.
But to love below, with saints we know,
Well, that’s another story!’

Geoffrey Paul – ‘There is no way of belonging to Christ without also belonging to that extraordinary ragbag of saints and fatheads who make up the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church!’

3. Speaking and listening to the Lord, vv16-22

Speaking to the Lord – ‘Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances’

Joy – not jollity.

’The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams, but God is the ocean.’ (Jonathan Edwards, Works, II, 244)

Prayer – We cannot always be saying our prayers.  But we can practice the presence of God.  Arrow prayers.  The Jesus Prayer: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner’.

Giving thanks in all circumstances (not for, but in every circumstance).  There is a place for lament.  But there is also a place for collective thanksgiving.  Not just ‘hatched, matched and despatched’.  Remember the ten men with leprosy!

Listening to the Lord – suggests an ‘open but cautious’ approach.

(i) Open – ‘Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt.’

Experiential, historical (special seasons) and (especially) biblical reasons.

1 Cor 14:1 ‘Eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.’

(ii) Cautious – ‘Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid all that is bad.’

Supposed prophecies can be trivial, mistaken, or worse:

Therefore, be discerning.  Ask:

• Is it in line with Scripture?
• Does it receive the approbation of wise Christians?
• Does it build up the church?

What are our expectations today?

• When you read a familiar passage of Scripture and it speaks to you in a fresh and powerful way…
• When the preacher makes a remark that seems to show uncanny insight into your present situation…
• When you awaken three nights in a row with an urge to pray for someone you’ve only met a couple of times; and then you contact that person, and they respond, ‘That’s amazing! My wife has just been diagnosed with cancer.’…

Do we really expect God to speak to us today?  When he does, are we listening?

We are not Old Testament prophets, declaring, ‘Thus says the Lord’.  Better, perhaps: ‘I think that what God might be saying to us in this situation is…’

Conclusion

What sort of leaders?
What sort of members?

At a recent Deanery Synod meeting, it was noted that for churches to grow they need both ministers to lead, teach and serve them, and members who are “on fire for the Lord”.

This reminds me of:

‘Get on fire for Jesus, and people will come and watch you burn.’

And so we will become, more and more, the community that God wants us to be, bringing

• Delight to the Father heart of God
• A new vitality to Christ’s people on earth
• And astonishment to a watching world.