Living With Purpose
SUMMARY
In this sermon from 1 Thessalonians 5, Karl Ihfe challenges believers to stop drifting through their faith and start living with intentional purpose. Drawing on Paul's closing commands to the Thessalonian church, Karl unpacks what purposeful faith looks like in everyday life — investing in people, staying connected to God, and making room for the Holy Spirit. Just as no one stumbles into a great marriage or deep friendship, no one drifts into spiritual maturity — it has to be cultivated on purpose.
TRANSCRIPTION:
In 1968, a chemist working for 3M Company, actually a guy from San Antonio, Texas, my hometown, named Spencer Silver, was working on creating an adhesive that could be used in space. And what he created was an incredibly weak adhesive, almost like a glue. It was made up of these acrylic spheres that, and I had to look this up, were only. They would stick only where they were. Tangent.
I didn't know what that meant, but some of you know what that means. If you think of it as like a basketball sitting on a floor, the only place that it's touching the floor is where it's actually touching, but the rest of it isn't there. Well, it creates this incredibly weak bond. In fact, the only application that he said it worked really good for is it would hold paper together. And as you can imagine, his bosses were like, great, Spencer, keep up the good work, buddy.
He said, well, what if we turned this into a spray? We could use it, like on bulletin boards. They're like, yeah, I don't think so. So this invention kind of sat to the side for a little while until another colleague, a man named Art Fry, was at church one morning and he was singing in his church's choir. And he had Marked all the places with these bookmarks, but every time he turned the page, the bookmark would.
Would fall off. And he thought, oh, man, this is so frustrating. I wish somebody could invent, like, a bookmark that would stick to the paper, but it wouldn't tear the paper, so I could move it when I needed to. And thus was born the post it note.
55 billion post notes are sold every year across the world. It makes $4.9bn a year for 3M. Now, it's a pretty amazing invention, and most of life is not that way, right? Where you accidentally or stumble into something incredible like the Post it note. We don't stumble into a healthy, strong marriage.
We don't trip into being a great parent or grandparent. We don't tend to accidentally develop deep friendships with people that we care about. And we certainly don't grow spiritually by just accidentally trying to be spiritually mature. Not much is like stumbling into the post it note. Most of life, you have to be intentional about.
You have to live it on purpose. In fact, I think that's the challenge that Paul is going to give. We'll hope here this morning in 1st Thessalonians 5 as he closes this letter, is that he challenges. Don't drift through your faith. Live on purpose.
Live with purpose. Live on purpose. It's got to be intentional. You know, following Jesus was never meant to be this program running in the background of our lives. In fact, it's supposed to shape everything that we do.
How we live, how we talk to one another, how we make decisions, how we choose to go forward. In fact, early on in chapter five, he says this. He reminds the Thessalonian people. He says, you're children of the light and you're children of the day. We don't belong to the night.
We don't belong to the darkness. Because of who God has created us to be, we live differently. We're going to live on purpose. So we're not going to be spiritually passive people. We're not going to be distracted or numb.
We're going to learn how to live on purpose. What's striking with Paul as he finishes this letter is he doesn't then start projecting or wondering about or even trying to predict the future. Instead, he's going to take a sharp focus on what does it look like to live today in the present. You know, we heard last time, we heard his reflections to the church, just encouraging them as they'd lost some people that they loved, right? They had died.
And he was encouraging them, reminding them that they're not lost, that they are actually with God. In fact, he gives this beautiful picture of one day we'll all be together again when Jesus comes. So as chapter five opens, his emphasis is not then speculating on when that's gonna happen. Instead he says, so that's gonna happen. So let's focus on today.
Let's focus how we're gonna live in light of that great truth. He's laser focused on teaching this church how to live the in the present. So he closes, he gives them this series of practical commands, some things he wants them to follow, to live out. Because faith in real life, it's intentional. It's intentional.
In fact, chapter five is almost a recap of what he's been telling us throughout this series. He says living on purpose means, number one, investing in people. And so he turns their eyes directly to the people that they are immediately around inside the church. He says verse 12. Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, Laura read this a moment ago to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you, hold them in the highest regard, in love, because of their work.
Now, here, I don't think Paul has only in mind the shepherds and the elders of that church. I think he certainly has them in mind. But I think he has in mind even more than that. In fact, in our day, we would think about it in terms of our shepherds, our staff and. And our volunteers.
Those who serve you, those who work hard for you, those who spend time and energy and effort trying to serve you. I was looking, in fact, as a staff team a few months ago, we were talking about the different volunteer areas in our church and how to encourage and celebrate those folks. And we started counting up, how many volunteers does it take? How many people does it take to have a service together where we can meet in this place and study God's word together and bless our kiddos together and learn from God together? It takes well over 100 people just serving people working over at Carpenter's Kitchen.
Like who, as you saw the email or the text yesterday, get kind of stuck with a bag going, what? Sorry, we can't make it today. Well, we've got to recruit more volunteers now to step in and fill in. And we have. How often do we think to thank those people?
Thank somebody who's teaching our Bible class, or thank someone who's teaching our children's Bible class, or thank someone who's greeting us on the way in or who's helping us stay caffeinated so that we can pay attention. How often do we thank? Paul says church, we need to be the best at celebrating those who serve. We need to be the kind of people who hold them in high regard and say, way to go. Because you're modeling to us life lived on purpose, right?
Faith in action. You're showing us the hands and the feet of Jesus. Paul continues on. He says, live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone and make sure nobody pays back.
Wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. It's so interesting to me that after he talks about Jesus returning right the day of the Lord, and we'll all be together with him. And immediately after talking about that, he turns directly to talk about the ordinary, everyday relationships, says church, notice the people around you. Notice those who are serving, who are leading, who are shepherding your hearts. Notice those who are going out of their way to sacrifice and give and serve for you.
You see, apparently to Paul, one of the clearest examples and signs of spiritual maturity in a church is how we treat other people. Sometimes we think that seriously spiritual, those spiritual mature people are private and almost mystical. According to Paul, it's actually a little more obvious than that. Paul defines it differently. He says the spiritually mature are the people in your life who respect faithful leadership.
They're the folks that are pursuing peace. They're encouraging struggling people. They're helping those who are weak. They're being patient, refusing to retaliate, that they just keep doing good. Paul says, that's purposeful.
That's intentional faith. That's life on purpose. Then notice how personal he now turns. He gives some really specific commands. He says, warn those who are idle and disruptive.
You see, some people needed loving correction in that church. He says, encourage the disheartened again, because there were some folks who the hardest thing they did all day was get out of bed and show up. It took all the strength and all the courage that they could muster because they're facing some really hard things in their life. Paul says, don't miss a moment to encourage them. Because I know in a room like this, in a crowd this size, that's your story.
And so, church, we need to be looking for who's disheartened, who's struggling, that we can come alongside of and say, I'm glad you're here. So thankful for you. Can I pray for you? Can I encourage you? How can I help you?
He says, help the weak. Because there were some who just needed a friend, who needed someone to come alongside and walk with them down a hard road. Different people need different things. And so, Paul says spiritual maturity is us learning to discern what. What love requires in the moment, learning to listen and to see other people, to get out of our own way, to recognize how God might be at work or how someone might need God's work in their life.
In fact, he says maybe this may be the hardest thing. He tells them at the end of verse 14, be patient with everyone, okay?
Everyone. I mean, even difficult people, even people who I don't agree with. Even people who it takes forever to get down the hallway or to get in the elevator or that kid's like, almost knocked me over three times. Everyone and Paul would say, yes, even them. Because you know what?
They're patient with you.
Patience is one of the clearest reflections of God's heart for his people. So Paul says, be patient, church. Be patient. We should be the most patient people because we have a God who is so incredibly patient with us. But friends, patience doesn't happen on accident.
Nobody stumbles into discovering patience. Oh, what do you know? At least it doesn't in my life. Patience is cultivated. It takes intentionality and so Paul doesn't leave us there.
He keeps pressing us down the road. He says, make sure nobody pays back wrong for wrong. But always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. Now in my business, this is where we tell Paul, you've moved from preaching to meddling, brother. Always do what's good for others.
Don't pay back wrong, Always strive. Don't take matters into your own hands. Don't try to give back. You see, retaliation, it's natural. Seeking revenge and being made right, it's natural cynicism.
In our world, in our day, it's natural. But doing good, always, that takes cultivation. See, one of the clearest signs of spiritual drift is when compassion disappears. So let me just invite you to take a little self assessment, if you would. Church.
When irritation becomes your default setting, when people become interruptions instead of image bearers, when criticism comes easier than encouragement, Paul says, church, don't drift through there.
The church is not meant to be a room full of religious consumers sitting next to each other one week at a time or a day at a week. We're meant to be a community that's intentionally loving, intentionally serving, intentionally helping one another to follow Jesus. Because see, spiritual drift makes us self centered, but purposeful. Faith, intentional faith turns us outward. Now this wasn't just Paul's idea, was it?
And he got this directly from Jesus, who. I'm not the first to say this, but I agree with it. I think one of the primary sins that Jesus preached against, that he taught against, that he challenged and convicted others of, is lovelessness. And it didn't matter if it was a self righteous pharisee religious leader. It didn't matter if it was a selfish disciple who was saying, get those little kids out of here, we don't have time for this.
Jesus said, no, no, no, we are not gonna live that way. That is not the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is loving others. Faith in real life, it begins and it ends with people. So if we're gonna live on purpose, it means we're gonna have to be serious about investing in people.
But not just that. Paul will show us living on purpose also means staying connected to God. And then Paul gives three of the shortest commands in the New Testament. Right here. Boom, Boom, boom, verse 16.
It's right up there with John 11:38. Jesus wept. Shortest verse in the Bible. Rejoice always. Rejoice always.
Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for your life. Rejoice, pray, give thanks if you have your Bible there this morning, or you can highlight a word. Rejoice, pray, give thanks. Paul boils it down to a pretty simple thing he doesn't say, do it occasionally, whenever you feel like it.
If you remember today, he says, pray always.
Or rather, rejoice always. Pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances. Now, let me warn us here. Let's be sure we. We don't hear what Paul is not saying.
Paul is not saying, pretend that life is never hard. Never let them see you sweat. Deny grief and pain. Ignore what's really going on inside of you. Fake happiness.
When you go to church, just say, how are you? I'm fine.
Paul himself suffered deeply. If you don't believe, just read First Corinthians. He gives a laundry list of the heartache and the abuse and the suffering, the rejection, the imprisonment, the loss. You see, what Paul's offering here is not shallow optimism. Rejoice always, Pray continually.
Give thanks in all circumstances.
Paul commands these because they're rooted in God, right? Rejoice always. Christian joy is deeper than mood.
Happiness depends on circumstances. But joy, Paul connects this back to Jesus. Joy is the settled contentedness, this confidence that Jesus is Lord, that and that he is present and that he is faithful. And so sometimes joy looks like celebrating and it's loud, but sometimes it's really quiet. And it's enduring.
And it's found in places of great suffering because it's refusing to let go and let despair have the last word. Instead, we hold onto God's present. This is hard, but God is with us.
Nobody drifts into that kind of joy. That's not the way of our culture. You have to intentionally cultivate it. As we look at the world around us, our culture is trying to train us in anxiety, in outrage, and in fear and insecurity and comparison and negativity. If we drift church, that's what we drift into.
And. And I think that's sometimes why when we take the temperature of the world outside and the world and the church, we get a sense of what's been most important to the church. It's because we see the same things happening, right? Paul says, church, don't drift into this. You've got to be intentional about how we live.
There's a reason that New Testament writers, authors, they call joy a spiritual discipline because we don't just drift into it. He says, we gotta practice it. But not only that, we rejoice always. We pray continually. Now, he's not trying to say we spend all of our lives with our Eyes closed.
It means we're trying to learn how to live in this ongoing awareness of God's presence with us. And so prayer becomes less like a scheduled appointment, I'll meet you Wednesday at 3 o', clock, but instead becomes this continual conversation as you move throughout the day, as you're heading into your classroom or now into summer, as you're heading to your workplace or into the grocery store, you're just mindful of God. Help me to see what I need to see. God, would you be present? Lord, help me, Lord, give me wisdom.
I'm about to have a hard conversation. I need to confront a sin or struggle or this conflict happening in my office or between these people that I care about. God, would you give me strength? Would you give me the words, Lord, thank you, thank you that I get to be yours? Would you forgive me?
God, would you be near that person I can tell is distressed? God, would you be with them? You see, prayer keeps our hearts connected to God. So Paul says, pray continually. But again, like joy, we don't drift into that kind of prayer relationship with God.
It takes cultivation. Most of us instead drift into distraction. Paul says, let's not drift that way, Church. Let's rejoice always and let's pray continually and let's give thanks and notice. Paul doesn't say for all circumstances.
He says, give thanks in all circumstances. Because some circumstances are tragic, some are painful, some are incredibly wrong. But even in the hard circumstances that we may find ourselves in, we can still recognize God, you're here. I may not be able to see you. I may not be able to feel you right now.
But God, your promise is you're here. Help me find you. God, would you find me that grace is still possible, that love. Remember Paul's words from last week? Nothing can separate us.
Not even hard circumstances, not even a terrible diagnosis. Not fear or uncertainty or insecurity. Paul says, nothing can you see? Gratitude keeps our hearts soft. But ingratitude, it cuts us off.
Cynicism hardens our hearts. Entitlement blinds us to the world that's around us that God wants us to make a difference in. But gratitude awakens us to the goodness of God in circumstances that we might otherwise miss. And why do we do this? Paul says, this is God's will for you.
This is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. You know, people spend so much time wondering what is God's will for my life? And usually that revolves around should I take this job, should I move to this place, should I start dating this person? Or should I make this particular decision? Paul says, I'll tell you what.
If you want to know God's will for your life, let's start here. Rejoice always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances. Pray, rejoice, give thanks. How about starting there to discover and find God's will for your life. Live connected to God on purpose.
Because life or living on purpose means investing in people. It means staying connected to God. And then he ends by saying, making room for the Spirit.
See, how are we going to be able to stay invested in people? Because sometimes people let us down. And how can we stay connected to God? Because we don't always feel like God is present and with us. Paul says, well, let's make a little room for the Holy Spirit to be at work in our lives.
Verse 19. Don't quench the Spirit. It's kind of a powerful image. It's like a fire extinguisher over a fire. Don't quench, put out the fire.
Keep creating space for the Spirit. You see, apparently it's possible for believers and churches to suppress the work of the Holy Spirit. Did you know that? It's possible to believe in God and yet not live like it. To actually quench his work in your life.
How do we do that? Well, think of the opposite of what he's been saying. Cynicism and pride and distraction and control and spiritual numbness and refusing convention, not conviction, not allowing other people to know the real you and speaking truth into your life. We can become so hurried and distracted and emotionally overwhelmed that we stop noticing God's presence. We stop noticing his work.
And churches become busy places that are spiritually cold. A lot of organization, but not much prayer. A lot of activity, but it still feels lifeless or a lot of religion, but pretty resistant to God's work. So Paul says, don't live that way. Make room for his spirit.
How do we do that, Paul? Well, he says, do not treat prophecies with contempt, but test them all. Hold on to what is good. Reject every kind of evil. In other words, don't be gullible, but also don't be closed off from God's work happening either.
You see, Christian maturity requires a couple of things. Number one, openness. And number two, discernment. So don't just shut things down. It was.
It was fascinating. Kaylee and I and Hallie had dinner with some friends and we were just talking about this very thing of being in other places and other. Other churches who have different engagement with the Holy Spirit. And so we talked about how do you know? How do you understand?
And Paul says, listen, discern. I think it's so interesting that. So that so many criticisms of the Christian faith is that people just. You check your brain at the door. You don't have to think about it.
That's never what Paul talks about. He says, we got to learn how to discern, so we got to know what God's voice sounds like so that when we hear it coming out through another person, we can just. Does that sound like something God would want me to do? Does that sound like the voice of God, something he might say? He says, stay open, test it.
Hold on to the good, reject the bad. You see, Paul envisioned this church that would be active and alive with God's spirit, empowering the church, doing incredible things. Remember, Jesus promised to those disciples that you think, what I'm doing is great. You have no idea. When the Spirit comes, you're going to do even greater things than this.
Now, for those of us who kind of drifted into a faith that just doesn't have much room and space, that sounds odd. It sounds strange. We think, how in the world is that possible? Jesus believed that. Jesus said, I'm gonna.
You're gonna be so glad that I go away because my spirit's coming. And when the Spirit comes, it's gonna be incredible. Like, he actually believed. Incredible things can happen. So Paul's challenge to the church.
He says living on purpose means refusing to let your heart go spiritually numb. Says, cause God's still convicting. God's still moving. He's still working in people's lives. He's still transforming hearts and opening up eyes and minds and ideas.
You see, the opposite of intentional faith is usually not outright rebellion. It's just spiritual drift. It's just occasional prayer. It's just random gratitude. It's irregular worship whenever it's convenient.
It happens slowly. Paul says, church, don't drift in your life. One day, Jesus is coming back, and all things we've made new and all those who've gone on before us will be together again. But between that day and this, God has work for us to do because there are other children. Jesus said, there are other sheep that aren't a part of my flock yet, and I want them to come in and I need your help.
Would you reach out to them? Would you live in such a way that people would see how you live and think? I want that. Would you be encouragers? Just commit to being a radically encouraging person this week?
Because most people, I can tell you, most people don't have an encourager in their life.
Would you be prayerful on purpose? Would you pursue peace on purpose? You see, the world doesn't need more distracted Christians. What the world needs are people who are spiritually rooted in Christ, who are emotionally present, who are fully alive. So maybe the question that we can finish with this morning is this, where have you been drifting church?
Where have you become spiritually passive and just invite the Holy Spirit? Spirit, tell me where do I need to step back into my life again? What would it look like for me to live on purpose again? You see, our faith in Jesus was never meant to be the operating system that kind of runs in the background and we hope doesn't fall apart. Instead, it's supposed to be shaping every decision and every moment in every relationship.
You see, it's meant to shape how we live each day. That, Paul says is faith in real life. God, may that be true of us this week as we go about all the things that are before us. Would you encourage our hearts and challenge us to be the people you've called us to be? God, would you give us eyes to see and ears to hear and feet ready to follow wherever it is that you have to lead us?
Would you help us to grow in our investment in other people, to see this week as an opportunity to share a good word, an encouraging thought, just a friendly smile and a warm handshake with someone who's down and who's discouraged? May we live as Paul challenged this young church, to live as constant encouragers who will challenge those who are living idly, but who also will come alongside the brokenhearted and those who are struggling and help lift the weak? God, would you teach us how to stay connected to you in a real and true, authentic way? And to do so, God, we recognize we're going to need room in our lives, so would you open us up to the things that we need to set down? Maybe we need to walk away from social media for a while, or maybe we need to step away from a particular relationship or an activity that's just distracting us from you.
And instead, Father, make space to cultivate life with you in a deeper way. Because God is so true, we don't drift into a deeper journey with you. We have to be intentional. But Lord, we are here this morning, a living testimony of a man, a woman who followed you, who lived that way in our life, who loved us enough to tell us the truth and to invite us to a new way. And so, God, we want to be those people for this next generation.
God, thank you for my friends here around the room, those who are listening online everywhere they are God, would you challenge and encourage them this day by your holy spirit to help them live differently? God, we want to be a people to who live faith in real life. Oh, may it be so. In Jesus name, amen.