Amen. Turn with me in your Bible this
morning to 1st Thessalonians chapter 4.
First Thessalonians chapter 4. I'm going to just read from
verse 9 through to verse 12. Let's hear the word of God
reading of course from the Authorised Version or as many
affectionately call it, the King James Bible.
He authorised it in the name of the Lord.
Let's hear God's word. For those online, the words will
come up on screen. So I've said before for anybody
that would like a Bible, please contact us.
And I apologise to the dear lady that did contact me last week
about the Bible. I will get to that eventually if
you apologise, but it will come first.
Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 9. But as touching brotherly love,
you need not that I write unto you.
For ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another, and
indeed you do it toward all the brethren which are in Macedonia.
But we beseech you, brethren, that you increase more and more,
and that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and
to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that ye may
walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may
have lack of nothing. Amen.
We know God will stamp with his own approval and blessing this
reading of His own precious and infallible word.
Now this morning we continue with our series of expository
sermons in First Thessalonians, and my text today is taken from
First Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 9 to 12, and have
entitled Today's Message, The Church of Brotherly Love, one of
the 1st century philosophers, and by a man by the name of
Lucian, he wrote a satire and in it he said this.
It is incredible to see the order of love that these
Christians have one toward another.
They seem to spare nothing. Now that's a heathen man, an
unbeliever, and he's looking into the life of the 1st century
church. And despite all the persecution
of that day, in the midst of idolatry, in the midst of
immorality, in the midst of iniquity, he sees the love that
these true born again Christians have one for another.
Now, the subject of brotherly love is not disjointed from the
subject of sanctification. It's not just a subject that the
apostle Paul has abruptly introduced or thrown in randomly
into the latter. No, you see, love between God's
people is just one facet or one face of the people of God.
Remember we've already read and preached on for this is the will
of God, even your sanctification that you should abstain from
fornication. Chapter 4, verse three.
We know that sanctification is not only the will of God, but
it's also the work of God and the soul by the Holy Spirit
through the merits of the Lord Jesus.
But it's also a walk with God. It is necessary in the Christian
life to walk with God. And God is making his people
abound more and more in brotherly love because this
brotherly love is a holy love that's an integral part of true
holiness. I want you to think of a
diamond. It has many facets, faces that
catches the light. Well, I say it, true love
between Christians is just one of those facets, one of those
faces of what God's people are like.
And in first John 49 to 12, the apostle Paul is exhorting God's
people to continue to demonstrate, continue to display
brotherly love toward one another despite the darkness,
despite the difficulty of the day, despite the persecution,
the hardship, despite the trials and troubles.
He writes to them, and says, But as touching brotherly love, you
need not that I write unto you. For yourselves are taught of God
to love one another. Indeed, you do it toward all the
brethren which are in Macedonia. But we beseech you, brethren,
that you increase more and more, and that you study to be quiet,
and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as
we commanded you, that you may walk honestly toward them that
are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
Now as I thought about this from last Lord's Day, I thought of
three things. I want you to think the
instruction about brotherly love.
Notice first name. But as touching brotherly love
you need not daily write unto you, for ye yourselves are
taught of God to love one another.
Now the word brotherly love is a translation of one Greek word
and we could use the word Philadelphia.
It's used quite a number of times in the New Testament.
In the United States of America, there's a city called
Philadelphia. It's known as the city of
brotherly love. And I was there on one occasion
and visited about 12 or 13 years ago.
Well, let's come from United States of America and go to 1st
century Greece. And in Greece, there's a church
there in the city of Thessalonica, and it's known as
the Church of Brotherly love. Remember how Paul commended them
for their labour of love? He says in chapter 1, verse 3,
remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labour of love
and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of
God and our Father. And now in verse 9, he tells
them, But as touching brotherly love you need not that I write
unto you. So what does that mean?
Does Paul mean you don't need to hear anything about this subject
again yet? You've heard it already.
I've already told you. I've already commanded you.
So I don't have to write anything more about it.
I don't have to mention it again.
See, that's how some interpret that.
But that's not the meaning Paul is saying here.
When he says you need not that I write unto you.
He means that I don't have to go into deeper detail.
I don't have to go into great length.
I don't have to set forth this subject again in a in a vast
manner to you. Why?
And here's the answer. For ye yourselves are taught of
God, to love one another, taught of God.
See, they were taught of God and sanctification whenever they
were born again of the Holy Spirit and there was a true work
of God wrought in their soul and in that out working of
sanctification, their motto and mindset being holiness unto the
Lord. They were taught of God in that
work of sanctification, that in the outworking of that, there
was not only the will of God and the work of God, but there was a
walk with God and that walk was a walk of love, a holy love in
the heart because that's an integral part of true holiness.
They were also taught of God in the Scriptures.
Remember the words love one another's repeated unteen times
in the scriptures. They were taught of God by the
Saviour. This is what the Lord Jesus
said. John chapter 13.
A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another
as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
By this shall all men know that you're my disciples.
If you have love one to another, you see this brotherly love that
he writes about. It's not in their heart.
Naturally. They had to be taught in the
process of sanctification they were taught and from the
scriptures they were taught and from the lips of the Saviour
they were taught. And what were they taught?
If you look at the text for yourselves are taught of God to
do what? To love one another.
What I'm saying it's not something naturally in the
heart, it's not something that's in and of ourselves, it's not
something there that's apart from divine grace.
Apart from divine grace, it's not naturally possible to love
one another. See, the reality is we, we do
love ourselves even as God's people, even as Christians, we
can display self love. We can be self centred.
We love our families. Why?
Because well, they're related to us.
They're our offspring. But we love a few friends.
Well, providing they stay loyal as friends if if it suits us.
But the reality is we really love ourselves.
We're asking ourselves what's in it for me.
See the best kind of brotherly love, even our love to God and
love to Jesus Christ and love to everything that's biblical in
moral, the word of God. Remember, we still have fallen
sinful hearts and in the Church of Jesus Christ there is, we
could have to say honestly shocking low levels of biblical
love. Let let me give you an example.
Here's a nurse. She's a born again believer and
if you'd asked her, are you a loving person?
Oh yes, I'm a loving person. She gets a new job.
She's now appointed the chief health visitor for a certain
area. And in the first day of the job,
the boss looks at her and she knows by the look.
In fact, she said when I saw her looking at me, I knew that she
knew that I was a believer. So from the day one I got picked
on, I got the hardest cases possible thrown at me, I got the
worst unpleasant hours ever and I got the most paperwork to do.
And I believe that the boss was doing that as a deliberate
policy. And the woman admitted it's hard
to have feelings of love for someone who has it in for you,
someone who doesn't like you, who deliberately rubs you up the
wrong way. And even with people like that,
yes, we try to love them, we pray about loving them.
But when alls we get, every day is hostility, antagonism and
hardship. Then we asked, why is this
happening to me? Why is this man or woman like
this? Well, here's the answer God has
allotted because God is suffering, because I believe
that God looks into your heart. And when you feel in your mind
like murdering someone because of their attitude and the
antagonism toward you, then the reality is if we feel like that
and I could murder him, I could strangle horror, then the
reality is there's little or no love at all.
You see, often times the Lord employs these means to empty us
of self, to show us what's in our heart, that what's in our
heart is the opposite of a sanctifying love.
What's in our heart is really a self love.
And we have to be taught of God. Doctor Barnes when he was here
at the 1st Friday Fellowship said this about Amy Carmichael
with a woman who was nasty with her, who said very hurtful
things, said things that caused tears, said things that indeed
were very upsetting. And a friend asked Amy
Carmichael, well, how did you respond?
And this is what she said. I took it as an opportunity to
die to self. You see, we have to be taught of
God, taught in the outworking of sanctification, taught in the
Scriptures. By this shall all men know that
you're my disciples. If you have love one to another,
this love is a supernatural matter.
It is a sanctifying, holy love. I believe it's given like a gift
and it has to be taught of God and it's only possible by the
grace of God. And love for one another is one
of the great hallmarks of the true Church of Jesus Christ.
True love stands in contrast to Trojan love.
The 1st century culture, like today, confuses love and lust.
Sensual lust is never loving. Sensual lust is selfish,
motivated by self love. It it harms and hurts everyone
who comes into contact with it. But the true Christian is not to
be carried to rise by the passion of lust.
He's to be carried to rise by the purity of his love, by the
power of love, A fervent, pure love for one another.
Go back to the word Philadelphia.
It's love for members of the same family, naturally, your
brothers and sisters, but it's wide enough in the Bible to mean
a love for members of the family of God.
And Paul commended them for their love for one another.
And Paul is calling them to keep on demonstrating, to keep on
displaying love to one another. The early church was
characterised by this love. It was not optional.
Listen to 1st John chapter 3 and in the verse 10 it says this.
In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of
the devil. Whosoever doeth not
righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his
brother. For this is the message that you
heard from the beginning, that you should love one another not
as keen who was of that wicked 1 and slew his brother.
And wherefore slew he him, because his own works were evil,
and his brother's righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the
world hate you. We know that we have passed from
death unto life, because we love the brethren.
He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
Genuine love for one another should be the hallmark of the
true Church of Christ. So that's the instruction about
brotherly love. The second point is this, the
instinct of brotherly love. Now if you look back again at
our text of Scripture in First Thessalonians chapter 4, he says
in verse 10, And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which
are in all Macedonia. Now I want you to see this.
You see, once you're born of God and the life of God comes into
the soul, that life of God produces a love for one another
and that love is exhibited. It's like a a natural instinct,
a spontaneous instinct. Think when a baby's born, what's
the first thing it does? It cries, there's a wee smile,
it moves its arms, it wiggles its toes.
It's instinctive. We have some cats at home.
If anybody wants a cat, I can give you one free to a good
home. But what do cats do by nature?
They hunt for mice. What does a bird do by nature?
It wants to fly, and if you go after it and say here little
birdie, come to me, it, it'll fly away.
See, they don't have to be taught.
It's the nature of a dog to bark.
You go to homes. We were at homes yesterday and
we could hear the dogs barking inside.
The dog knew instinctively somebody was coming up the path,
somebody was at the door, somebody was going past the
window. And you see, in the life of the
Christian, the individual is born again by the Holy Spirit.
There's a natural instinct for spiritual things.
Remember when the Apostle Paul was converted in the Damascus Rd
we read in Acts Chapter 9. I believe it's in verse 11.
Behold, he prayeth. That's the sign that God gave to
Ananias that he was truly changed man and transformed.
He said prayers before is a Pharisee, but now he was praying
from his heart. It's one of the signs that he
was born of God. There was a desire in his heart
to seek the face of God. Remember Mary who sat at Jesus
feet, Luke 1039. She had a desire for the word of
God. She wanted the book of God.
She wanted the word. The Christian will have a desire
to witness. Let the redeemed of the Lord say
so. He'll have a desire for
holiness. But with that there'll also be
the desire to display and demonstrate love one to another.
And every believer is taught of God to love one another.
Remember what we read in first John chapter 3.
We read this, Beloved, behold what manner of love the Father
hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of
God. Therefore the world knoweth us
not, because it knew not him. Beloved, now are we the sons of
God? And it does not yet appear, but
we shall be. But we know that He shall
appear. We should be like Him, for we
shall see Him as He is, And every man that hath this hope in
Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.
What do you read in first John 4, verse 8?
See him in verse 16. We read this, God is love.
What does that mean? It means it belongs to his
nature. It's not something created.
It's not just a part of his being.
It is who God is love, a pure, holy, eternal love.
And those of us who are born again and genuinely converted,
His people are not only taught of God, taught by the
supernatural mighty operation of the Holy Spirit, but whenever
they're born of God, they receive the nature of God and
the nature of God, according to second Peter chapter one, verse
4 is to to love one another. There's a desire to love.
Remember what we read in Matthew chapter 22, verse 37 to 40.
They shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all
thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, and I
shall love thy neighbour as thyself.
And these hang all the law and the prophets I love for God.
Paul says in our John says in first John four and verse 19, We
love him because he first loved us.
And that's love to God is seen and is especially seen in her
treatment to one another. Listen to these words first John
4 and 20. If a man say I love God and hate
his brother, he's a liar. For he that loveth not his
brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he have not
seen? And this commandment have we
from him, that he who loveth God love his brother.
Also solemn words, you see, bitterness, hatred, jealousy,
animosity against a fellow Christian is a sin, and it
doesn't belong to the true Christian life, and it needs to
be repented of. And if you profess to be born
again, you profess to belong to the family of God, then you will
have a desire to demonstrate and to display love toward all who
are in the true family of God. We're exhorted in first Peter
217 to love the brotherhood. And there is a brotherhood of
true believers. And we here no longer dead in
trespasses and sin, no longer in the darkness, no longer blind,
no longer in a natural state, brought out of a state of guilt
into a state of grace. We are commanded to love one
another. And what I'm saying is that
there's not only an instruction because we're taught of God, but
there's also an instinct to brotherly love because the
nature of God is implanted within our soul because God is
love. Now I'm well aware that there's
people in the church and it's not easy to get on with.
And sometimes people who are not easy to get on with, you have to
tiptoe around them. I'm well aware we all of a
sinful nature. Let's be clear.
Including this preacher. And I'm the first.
I'll be in front of the queue. I stand first to the line.
We all have our faults. We're all full of imperfections,
feelings and shortcomings. And we do and see things that
annoy one another. And some people are easily
offended. Some people cry, some people get
mad, but in spite of all these things, in spite of all these
feelings, in spite of our dealings with one another, we
should make loving one another a matter for prayer, and we should
make it a matter to shine forth the love of God in Christ.
And we should say, Lord, you've allowed this situation to
happen. Here's an opportunity for me
today to die to self, to die to self love.
It's an opportunity to demonstrate and display a truly
sanctifying sacrificial love. You see, let's remember God's
love for us. His amazing love was
demonstrated for us at the cross.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life. And remember what Paul writing
to thee church at Ephesus said this in Ephesians 5.
As ye therefore followers of God, as dear children and walk
in love, as Christ also have loved us and have given himself
for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet
smelling savour. God is the one who's teaching us
about loving one another. And because we're born of the
Spirit and indwelt by the Holy Ghost, the Spirit within us who
has shed the love of God abroad in our hearts helps us not only
to love God and love the Lord Jesus, but enables us to love
one another. It's instinctive.
Very quickly. I want you to think of this as
we finish the increase of biblical love.
If you go back to Thessalonians, look with me at the verse 10
Thessalonians, it says, and indeed you all do it as toward
all the brethren which are in Macedonia.
But we beseech your brethren that you increase more and more.
There's the increase of biblical love.
Now you see, Paul has commended them for their love one to
another, but he wants to encourage them, exhort them.
Don't rest in your laurels. Don't become complacent.
I want you to increase more and more.
In fact, he mentions in verse 9 brotherly love, which is the
Greek word Philadelphia. Whenever you come to verse 9, it
says for yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
That word love is not the same word Philadelphia.
In fact, in the Greek it's agape, which is the same word
that's used for God's love in John 3 and 16.
Because what is love? Love was a self sacrificing,
caring commitment that shows itself in seeking the highest
good of the one loved. Let me repeat that.
Love is a self sacrificing, caring commitment that shows
itself in seeking the highest good of the loved.
God so loved that He gave. God loved us and gave himself
for us. God's love involves self
sacrifice. And what is the main hindrance
to self sacrificing love? It is selfishness.
Husbands are exhorted to lay husbands are exhorted to love
their wives, even as Christ loved the church and gave
himself for it. And how many husbands would
stand up if the wife was being attacked and they'd be willing
to lay down their life for their wife?
But it's important that we not only adopt that mindset in a
self sacrificing manner, but that involves spending time and
thinking about the needs of her wife and her family.
See there's an increase in this love.
They're to abound more and more. Notice this very quickly and
have to be quick here. Look at the word Macedonia vast
region of easier minor. They were reaching out.
The whole of the country was affected, sending out the word
of God, sending out missionaries 2 by two, and that was
tremendous. Paul says.
But look at verse 10. But we beseech you, brethren,
that you increase more and more. Why the contrast?
Think of the word. But we beseech you, brethren,
was there something wrong at home?
There was look at verse 11 and that you study to be quiet and
to do your own business and to work with your own hands as we
commanded you see, take note of this, we beseech you.
It's good to support missionary causes.
It's good to be involved in evangelism and reaching out into
other places and other lands. And but there's a call, there's
a challenge. There's a command to love their
brethren at home. There's a three fold exhortation
here as we finish studying to be quiet.
What does that mean? Well, it's nothing to do with
going to the library. It's not about the librarian
saying it's not seeking a quiet place to read a book.
The word study has to do with the idea of making it a goal, an
ambition. Having a name study involves
labour. The word quiet has to do with
this thought. Make sure you're not the cause
of disturbances in the church. You see the inferences that
people in Thessalonica were disturbing the peace of the
congregation and it's easy to sin in this area.
It's easy to find fault, be mad, be upset, say something and do
something. Remember the Lord Jesus Christ,
remember what we read of him in Isaiah chapter 42.
He shall not cry nor lift up their causes.
Voice to be heard in the street. He was the quiet man.
There's such a gentleness and quietness of Christ.
He had such a meek and quiet spirit.
He was not a disturber. He was not a tale bearer.
He was not a gossiper. He was not harsh.
He was not full of bitterness. He was not full of self love.
Whenever you see thoughts and feelings in me as your minister,
then I want you to pray for me. I asked you to plead with God to
show me. Don't just criticise, Be
constructive. Turn your criticism into prayer.
Let's not aim to be a disturber. Study to be quiet.
Notice these words. Do your own business.
What does that mean? It means be engaged in your own
affairs. Private, public.
You have your home life, you have your family, you have your
job, you have leisure time. Don't be a busy body, don't be
involved in someone else's affairs.
Don't allow that to become a problem.
You see, it was a problem in Thessalonica.
We read in Second Thessalonians in chapter 3 and verse 11 these
words, for we hear that they are some which walk among you,
disorderly, working not at all, but are busy bodies.
And these busy bodies were often tempted to meddle in other
people's affairs. What are you doing?
Why are you not doing this? What you should really say to
them? Or just mind your own business,
Live your own life in private and personal before God.
That's what that means. And also to work with your own
hands. Show by God's love, show by your
behaviour at work the mighty merciful love of God.
Involve yourself in God ordained labour.
Sadly today, and this is true of many congregations, there are
disturbers in the church who are not Christ like and they don't
study to be quiet and there are busy bodies in the church who
meddle in other affairs and give a bad testimony and they don't
do their own business. And there were some in
Thessalonanka who behaved so badly that they stopped working
with their own hands and demanded handout and payment and
demanded food and everything else that was going along with
it because they believed that they'd quit their job because
Christ was coming back and He is coming back.
But that was no reason for them in light of us coming to quit
their job. They were really being spongers
and it was in the early stages of manifesting itself and that's
why Paul dealt with it. What a shame.
Could I encourage you in finishing?
Let's love Christ with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength.
Let's live for Christ. Let's view Him and meditate in
Him. Let's see each other as brothers
and sisters in the family and let's live and light that the
Saviour has come. Now I'm going to end it there at
some other things to say, but we'll leave it there for today.
I trust and pray that what I've shared will be a help and a
blessing to us within the life of the congregation.