Gtcotr/ws120220
1 Thessalonians 5:8 But let us who are of the day be sober …
Who are those “who are of the day”? The Believer in Jesus Christ who are saved. The “elect” as they are identified in scripture. “But let us …”
8 But let us who are of the
day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a
helmet the hope of salvation.
9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
This same Jesus …
10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
Back
to verse 8: Notice that the Holy Spirit is primarily concerned with two
specific areas in the Believer’s life:
1.
The Heart
a. Which needs to be
covered with the breastplate of faith and love
b. The breastplate is
designed to protect the heart from being damaged.
c. We are being told that
the plan of the enemy is to attack our faith and love in attempts to extinguish
our light so that we appear to be walking in darkness just like those who without
Christ.
2.
The Mind
a. The mind is covered on
all sides by the hope of salvation which is like a helmet one would put on
before going into battle.
b. The helmet of hope protects the mind from being penetrated with combative thoughts and seeds of worry and fear that attack our minds and try to disable us from thinking straight.
Faith and Love are our breastplate. This type of breastplate covered both the front and the back of the body to provide protection to the vital organs of which the most important is the heart. Faith and Love work together protect our heart from damage and failure while Hope is the helmet that keeps us mentally sound and in command.
In 1 Chronicles 28:9, God spoke to Solomon about the importance of staying strong in heart and mind. He told Solomon to serve Him with a loyal heart and a willing mind. “For the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts.” There is a blessing when we seek the Lord which is forfeited if we forsake Him.
The
three powers God has given us protect us against the designs of our enemies.
These three powers are spoke of throughout the Scriptures and should be guarded
and grown in our lives for together they will determine our victories and the
quality and effectiveness of our life on earth. These three powers are:
·
The Power of Hope
·
The Power of Faith
· The Power of Love
1 Corinthians 13:13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
As Paul is closing his first letter to the Church at Corinth he reiterates:
1 Corinthians 16
13 ¶ Watch, stand fast in the
faith, be brave, be strong.
14 Let all that you do be done with love.
Of all of the commands we have been given by God, perhaps love is the hardest and the most difficult to keep. It can at times unreasonable to love some people. What we often miss is the fact that Love is not the measure of the person being loved but rather the measure of the person loving.
According to 1 John 4, God is love and “he who does not love, does not know God.” If anyone says they love God and they do not love their neighbor, they are lying to themselves and everyone else. Love is a tough commandment. But love is the greatest protection we have been afforded to keep and guard our hearts before God. Love keeps us on track.
However, love hurts!
1 Thessalonians 1
2 ¶ We give thanks to God
always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers,
3 remembering without ceasing
your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus
Christ in the sight of our God and Father,
4 knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God.
Verse
3:
·
Work of Faith
o Acts of faith
o Faith demands works
o Faith without works is
dead
·
Labor of Love
o Love is labor; it is
hard; like all labor, love is accomplished on purpose.
o Labor in the Greek =
kopos
§ Beating – (Picture of
beating the breasts in grief and sorrow)
§ Trouble
§ Pain and Weariness
§ Toil with great effort
·
Patience of Hope
o Hope will produce
steadfastness
o Without hope we lose
our endurance and we quit
o Hope is the helmet to protect the mind and keep us in the game.
Faith and Love are a breastplate protecting our hearts against the enemy before God.
Hope is a helmet that guards our mind and protects our thoughts from being drowned in worries and fears caused by the lies of the enemy.
If we are to serve God will a loyal heart and a willing mind as God commanded King Solomon, we must have Hope, Faith, and Love.
These
are all increased by the intake of God’s Word, the practice of Worship and the
dedication we have to pray.
·
Word
·
Worship
· Prayer
Let’s all be children of the day and not children of the night. Put on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
For
God has not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ
our Lord!
