Milo

24 JUNE (PREACHED 23 JUNE 1776)

Empathize with your ministers

‘Brethren, pray for us.’ 1 Thessalonians 5:25
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: 2 Corinthians 6:1–13

To pray for ministers the people must be able to feel for them. Here there is a difference. We know most of your exercises, because we share them with you in common. But you are not proper judges of ours. You do not stand in our place; we must tell you what we feel to engage your pity, but we can never tell you all. I need your prayers, and to engage them, I am desirous at this time a little to open my mind to you upon the subject of our trials. As to myself, if I had only to get through an hour in the pulpit, though I should prize your love and your prayers, I should have no very strong claim to your compassion. My outward trials are neither many or heavy, considering the usual lot of human life. But preaching is not all, and even in preaching, if the Lord has given us a love to our work and to our hearers, we have often, when we seem to speak with liberty, very painful feelings. Had we this desirable liberty always and nothing painful mixed with it, we should soon forget ourselves. This the Lord knows, and finds ways to make us remember what we are, which though necessary, are often very sharp. And though we are supported for public service and some persons may be ready to think we lead happy lives, we could (at least I could) often address you in the words of Job, Have pity upon me, O my friends, for the hand of God has touched me [Job 19:21].
FOR MEDITATION:
Chief Shepherd of thy chosen sheep,
With plenteous grace their hearts prepare,
From death and sin set free;
To execute thy will;
May every under-shepherd keep
Compassion, patience, love and care,
His eye, intent on thee!
And faithfulness and skill.

         Inflame their minds with holy zeal
         Their flocks to feed and teach;
         And let them live, and let them feel
         The sacred truths they preach.

SERMON: 1 THESSALONIANS 5:25 [2/6]

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

The thief cometh not … – The thief has no other design in coming but to plunder. So false teachers have no other end in view but to enrich or aggrandize themselves.

I am come that they might have life – See the notes at John 5:24.

Might have it more abundantly – Literally, that they may have abundance, or that which abounds. The word denotes that which is not absolutely essential to life, but which is superadded to make life happy. They shall not merely have life – simple, bare existence – but they shall have all those superadded things which are needful to make that life eminently blessed and happy. It would be vast mercy to keep men merely from annihilation or hell; but Jesus will give them eternal joy, peace, the society of the blessed, and all those exalted means of felicity which are prepared for them in the world of glory.

We humans have one bad habit of simply changing our minds about everything and anything at any given moment But thank God He doesn’t think and behave like any sinful fallen human being. “ if you being evil still know how to give good things to your children like giving bread and not a stone when children ask for food and Jesus said that we should pause and think just how greater God is in giving us good things when we ask Him for things. He never gives evil for good but only good things all the time and sickness and things of that nature are not things that God gives us , not normally at least, unfortunately that kind of thing is something we inherit from living in a fallen cursed world. But one day the curse will be lifted forever and for now we groan under the burden of sin as Paul states it.

That’s all repent means, the changing of one’s own mind for the good.

Because of the evil acts of people upon the face of the earth. Before the flood crime must have been severely bad amongst mankind and yet Jesus said that the evil of mankind before He returned would be like the days of Noah and that means really bad.

There are many people who would dare to say that God is the author of all evil in the world, that’s almost like stating that Jesus did his miracles by the power or in dwelling of Satan which we know from scripture is to blaspheme or to speak against the Holy Spirit which Jesus warned is never to be forgiven in this life or the one to arrive. Sure God directs good to come from directing evil in a different direction sometimes but if anything God is the destroyer of evil as we know happened when Christ died and rose again at Calvary “All Power in heaven and earth is even Now in the hands of the Lord”. “For we know that Christ came into the world to destroy the works of the devil” this He has done a long time ago although we don’t see it completed in the earth completely yet but we will see it when Christ returns and fully rules and reigns for a 1000 years on this earth. And afterwards the final judgment and then the creation of the new heavens and earth because this present earth will be burned up with fire. Then we will see paradise restored forever with sin gone forever. Today you will be with me in paradise- the thief on the cross was one of the first people allowed to enter in with Jesus into paradise that very day, a kind of first fruits of the cross.