1 Thes. Lesson 12: Hold to What is Good (3) :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: December 1, 2021 by RR7

Chapter 5: 12-22

“And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, ¹³ and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves. ¹⁴ Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. ¹⁵ See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. ¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not despise prophecies. ²¹ Test all things; hold fast what is good. ²² Abstain from every form of evil.”

As I am writing, it is American Thanksgiving Day. We celebrated ours here in Canada back in October. Thanks once again for the lovely emails; it is good to hear from you.

Last week we took a long look at verse 14 of our passage, and today we are going to cover a few more verses, 15-18. In these verses, as we get to verse 18, we will be called to give thanks. I did not plan this, but as I mentioned, this is US Thanksgiving. We will talk a bit about thanksgiving as we get to the end of the lesson today. We are exploring the topic of Holding to What is Good. As we look around, especially as children of God who love Him and hold His Holy Bible in high regard, we can see that there is a serious problem in our society. We have run so far from God that evil is now being promoted as good and vice-versa. It can be sickening, and like Lot, we are troubled in our spirits by what we see and hear.

Those of us that have been around a while know that if what we see is bad, then what they have managed to cover is even worse. It would be easy to fall into the depths of despair and try to hide until Jesus comes to get us. It would be easy to cut ourselves off from the outside and retreat until Jesus comes, but we would be missing out on all that God is still doing. In contrast to running and hiding, God offers us some great actions that we can take to put our minds at ease; He is still in control. To be a source of strength and comfort to our saved siblings, obedience is still good, and to be a light to the lost that sees the chaos and seeks shelter in Jesus; Jesus still saves. Come with me and see how the Lord can use us to change the world for some of the people around us.

Do not seek revenge, verse 15

We live in a time when we see a lot of people getting each other back. We see it online and on social media. People seem to lay in wait for a long time just preparing to pounce on others who have hurt them. They scheme and plan for revenge and act as soon as a door is opened. But God’s children should not be this way. Sadly, this kind of revenge has crept into the churches, and we see so many churches torn apart by a lack of forgiveness.

In Matthew 18:21-22, Jesus and Peter have a discussion about how often a brother or sister should be forgiven when they sin against you. He, Peter, tries to supply the answer – seven times? But Jesus says to Peter that he should be willing to forgive 70 times that amount. This is astonishing to us; wow, that is a lot! We are to forgive a sibling 490 times for the same sin. My, my, we are not helping them, and we are not standing for ourselves. The principle is this: we have been eternally forgiven for ALL the sins we have committed against God, and, in turn, we should forgive each other the same way without keeping score.

Now, this does not mean that there is no justice. If someone is murdered, kidnapped, raped, robbed, and the list goes on, there are to be legal ramifications. But we are to forgive that person. All too often, these are not the reasons we hold grudges. The offense is often more personal; something they said or did not say, something they did or did not do. We hold onto the grudge and wait in the shadows to hurt, shame, and call out our supposed brothers and sisters. This is wrong, evil. We are called to forgive and move on. Forgive and ask God to help us forget. Forgive and restore friendships.

Often, we say we have forgiven the offender, but then we cut off or limit contact with them. This is not forgiveness; this is fake forgiveness. The purpose of forgiveness is to restore fellowship; if the fellowship is not restored, then forgiveness has not been enacted.

Too many of God’s people and His churches are filled with unforgiveness. It is the very lifeblood of the Lord’s people. We have splits and destroyed and/or shrinking churches because of unforgiveness. People can’t seem to get past each other’s flaws and failures, so we go down the road and start a perfect church only to have the same thing happen time and time again. Pastors are run off, and the church never has to grow in forgiveness. Sadly, this means it never grows. We have a lot of immature churches that hinder the Kingdom of God; Lord, help us.

Pursue what is Good, verse 15

Living for the Lord takes effort and deliberate actions. We are called to pursue what is good, not just for ourselves but for each other. This is agape love. But I want you to understand that you cannot love like this and not forgive. You cannot love like Jesus and seek revenge at the same time. We are called to take responsibility for each other. Notice that the verse says pursue what is good for ourselves and EACH OTHER.

True love requires us to take responsibility for another. Jesus took responsibility for us by coming to die on the cross for our sins, yours and mine. When we begin to learn to love like Jesus, we will be required to take responsibility for another, even at our own expense. Those of us that have children may understand that a bit more. But if you have truly loved anyone, the first sacrifice is yourself. Please notice the contrast in this verse; we are not called to get even when we are wronged, but even when we are wronged, we are to pursue what is good for the person wronging us. Jesus forgave those nailing Him to the cross. Stephen, in Acts 7, forgave those who were murdering him and left such an impression with Saul of Tarsus that he was never the same; and that Saul became our Paul.

To be able to pursue what is good, we must know what is good. We must spend a lot of time in Bible study, in prayer, and in seeking Godly wisdom. Seeking what is good takes discipline. Discipline takes work, and work is a deliberate action.

Rejoice, Pray and Give Thanks, 16-18

Sadly, we hear more complaining, grumbling and whining than rejoicing, prayer and thanksgiving. We live in one of the most prosperous places on earth, and still, there is so much complaining among the Lord’s people. Sadly, my voice is among them. Lord forgive me! For those of us in the Lord’s churches, we have had hundreds of years of peaceful coexistence here, and no one has hurt, killed or really taken anything from us because of the Gospel. The poorest among us is still often richer than many in the world, and the things that we complain about are luxuries to the vast majority of the population on the planet.

We are saved. If we had nothing else, that alone should suffice for unfettered rejoicing. You and I are NOT going to Hell. That should lead us to a thankful life filled with gratitude and appreciation. But we are like the freed Israelites who complained to Moses that being slaves in Egypt was better than being free in the wilderness. Being killed in Egypt was better than being led by God in the wilderness. These grumblers made the 40 years in the wilderness feel like 400 for poor Moses. We are just like them; we have so much, and we should be thankful and full of rejoicing. But we are not, and we should be careful that God does not allow us to see what real suffering is all about.

Our lives should be filled with prayers of thanksgiving and rejoicing. Pray without ceasing; this sounds like monks tucked away in the hills somewhere out of touch with the world. Rather, this is a call to never hang up on God. At work, I will be praying, and a customer comes in to buy a car; I can just turn to that conversation and pick up with God when they are done. Maybe even talk to God in my mind as I am serving that person. Always be praying, always be listening to God with eyes open for the answers we need and seek. Pray for each other always, thank God always, rejoice always, and our perspectives will change. We will become more and more thankful for God’s constant presence in our daily lives; even in the very mundane events, we will see Him.

This is God’s will for us (verse 18). All too often, we say we are seeking the will of God. But God clearly states His will for us here in plain and unadulterated language. What if we actually began to do the will of God? Once again, we have to talk about actions, doing; yes, the vast majority of Christianity requires us to do, acts, participate in our growth and the expansion of the Lord’s Kingdom. This is how we continue to hold to what is good. We obey God’s clearly spoken will and change the way we and others live.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

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Isaiah 40:18: To Whom Will You Liken God? :: By Gary W. Ritter

Published on: December 1, 2021 by RR7

(Isaiah 39-40; Philippians 4)

A full-page ad in our complimentary copy of The Epoch Times caught my eye. The top half displayed the name Shen Yun and a beautiful Chinese dancer in mid-leap. The text below the fold said: “China Before Communism.” It went on to mysteriously say:

China was once called “Land of the Divine.” There was a time when divine beings walked upon the earth, leaving behind wisdom that gave birth to everything from medical innovations to opera, dance, architecture, and even martial arts… A splendid culture flourished in China for 5,000 years.

Upon seeing this, along with the additional ad copy, I was somewhat suspicious. Given the infiltration of the Chinese Communist Party into all strata of American life, this seemed all too convenient. “A Divine Culture – Lost. Darkness Spreads from China. Hope and Renewal.” Was this a means of presenting the soft and cuddly side of China to counter what many of us see as a threat to our democracy?

Maybe not. Shen Yun is apparently the official movement of the Falun Dafa that we may know better as Falun Gong, a dissident, non-Christian group in China that the CCP has persecuted for not toeing the party line. (https://www.shenyun.com/) Shen Yun means “Divine Grace.” The inspiration of Falun Gong and this dance company appears to be Buddhist and Taoist spirituality that has been lost under the tyranny of communism.

Because there are seemingly layers upon layers of intrigue that are deeply ingrained in China, what we see on the surface may or may not be innocuous. I have no information that Shen Yun has ties of any kind to the CCP. I hope it doesn’t. However, even if this theater group isn’t tainted by the devious machinations of those in China who wish to conquer America, there does remain a deeper, darker force behind it.

To understand this, we have to revisit the ad text from above:

There was a time when divine beings walked upon the earth, leaving behind wisdom that gave birth to everything from…

Seeing this immediately brought to mind the two spiritual rebellions against God that I’ve written of extensively. The first was the fall of the sons of God (bene Elohim) that we see in Genesis 6:1-4. The second occurs following the Tower of Babel fiasco in Genesis 11 when God placed His divine sons over the nations into which He had scattered mankind. All these mighty princes in the heavenlies subsequently chose to oppose God by setting themselves up as gods over their respective nations (Deuteronomy 32:8, ESV).

This second rebellion provides the basis for this description that Shen Yun gives us. If you’re familiar with the pseudepigraphal book of 1 Enoch, you know that it expands on these demonic rebellions. (A pseudepigraphal book is one that uses a famous person’s name as its author but wasn’t actually written by that person. Thus 1 Enoch wasn’t written by the Biblical Enoch we know from Genesis 5:24, i.e., the first man Raptured. It was written somewhere in the roughly 500 years during the 2nd Temple Period between the book of Malachi and the destruction of that temple in 70 AD.)

What this ad copy outlines is actually a form of the truth. The spiritual rebellions against God brought forth the divine beings referenced. As 1 Enoch tells us, they gave mankind many secrets of heaven exactly as stated:

… everything from medical innovations to opera, dance, architecture, and even martial arts…

This was not altruistic on the part of these divine rebels. They also imparted to man the means of making war and of making forbidden love. Their intent wasn’t to enrich humanity; rather, it was to pervert and destroy it. What they gave to men was the hidden wisdom of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). What did God warn if Adam and Eve ate of that tree? “You shall surely die.” The divine beings exalted by Shen Yun desired to destroy what God had made good; their purpose was to either make men completely depraved, to kill off humanity, or to alter our genetic makeup so that man was no longer fully human.

The bottom line on the Shen Yun production is that, whether it’s secretly associated with the CCP or not, there is a more ancient agenda: It is to lead people away from the One true God by glorifying other gods.

But what does the Bible have to say about this? Let’s look at several verses. First, consider what Isaiah 40:18-20 conveys:

“To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains. He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.”

It is to the spiritual rebels that idols are made. But God points out that they are useless.

Isaiah 40:21-23 goes on to make the comparison:

“Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.”

It was Yahweh who created the heavens and the earth. He is the architect and builder of all that exists. Those who oppose Him, whether divine princes of the spiritual realm or kings upon the earth, they have no power and will come to nothing.

The prophet exalts the Mighty One of heaven in Isaiah 40:28:

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”

It is He whom we must worship, not because He has attempted to bribe mankind or curry their favor. No, it is because He is above all these pretenders to the throne, and He is worthy.

Should man glorify other gods in any way? Absolutely not! It is only in God alone and through Him that we have life. Isaiah 40:31 encourages us:

“… but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

In these dark days when Satan and the rebellious host of heaven are contending for the souls of men, what should we do in response?

Wait for the Lord. When we do that, He will renew us and see us through until He brings us home.

[Author Note: Briefly, I want to set the stage for you as to the nature of most of my articles in this season. Each year I read the Bible through completely at least once – that has been my practice since I came to the Lord in 2005. I remain astounded at what God has done in my life because of that discipline! Each day I read from both the Old and New Testaments. I choose a verse from one of those passages and write my commentary and reflection based on that. In the title of my article, you’ll see the verse I chose. In addition, you’ll see the reading for that day if you’d like to follow along with greater context.]

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Gary W. Ritter is a lay pastor, Bible teacher, and prolific author. His Whirlwind Series comprises three books: Sow the Wind, Reap the Whirlwind, and There Is A Time. These books are contained in the collected volume of the Whirlwind Omnibus. Gary has been given the Christian Redemptive Fiction award for three novels: The Tattooed Cat, Alien Revelation, and for his collaboration with Terry James in writing The Minion Protocols, the third book in James’ Second Coming Chronicles.

Earlier this year, Gary released a four-volume set of Awaken Bible Study Notes that comment verse-by-verse through Scripture from a Biblical prophetic lens. He is currently editing a sequel to Alien Revelation called Alien Zombie Plague, which he plans to release later in the fall of 2021. Recently, Gary wrote a novella for the new Kindle Vella platform. That story is called Tribulation Rising: Seal Judgments – The Coming Apocalypse. This seven-part short work can be found at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099Z462WD.

Each day this year, Gary has been writing commentary and reflections based on his reading through the Bible in a year. The intent in all his writings is to bring a strong Christian witness to what people read. You can see all his books and blog articles and reach him at his website:www.GaryRitter.com or his Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/gritter3390. You can also see his older video Bible teachings on his Gary Ritter YouTube channel – look for the fish symbol, and more recently on Rumble on his Awaken Bible Prophecy channel: https://rumble.com/c/c-783217.