Well, our text today is a pretty short one, so I'm going to get right into it, and I'm going to read it, and then we'll do a little explaining around it. But I invite you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, and this morning we're going to be looking at verses 14 and 15, because they are packed full of important information. And here, Paul, who had written a letter to the Thessalonian church from Corinth, was concerned about how the church was getting along, and so he writes towards the end of this first letter, in verse 14, And we urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with all men. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men. Now I want to submit to you that the church is truly a miracle of God. Amen? Let's get those amens right away. And if you don't believe me, just look around. I want everybody to just look around at people for a minute. And I want to ask this question. Do you think that a group so diverse as us would come together on our own? Do you think that we would have the intimate friendships and relationships we have here if the Holy Spirit had not regenerated our hearts and minds in Christ? We truly see that the church is unique, isn't it? And you know from its inception recorded in the book of Acts, we know that the church remains a living, breathing testimony to the grace of God. It's really the visible manifestation of Christ and His gospel in the world. And yet, isn't it amazing that we see so many different dispositions and personalities when it comes to God's people? Certainly there is a supernatural unity that we all enjoy. And I think Paul talks about this magnificently in Ephesians 4. Verses 4-6, remember what Paul says there. He says, there is one body and one spirit, just as also you were called into one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. We are united and fused together in Christ. Yet in the midst of such God-given unity, the diversity of God's people really couldn't be greater. And I think this was evident right from the start of Jesus' earthly ministry. Think of some of the men that Jesus called to be apostles. There was Andrew, who was probably very open-minded, very quiet. There was Peter, who was impulsive and brash. There was Philip, who was somewhat inquisitive. There was James and John, the sons of thunder, who at times could show tremendous tenderness and compassion. There was Thomas, the pessimist, Simon, the zealot, who was strong-willed, and Judas, who was seen eventually to be a traitor. And we might want to ask, well, did these people always get along, these apostles? Hardly. Hardly. There were many times that we read in Scripture that they were very indignant with one another. And I remember one specific point in Matthew 20, verses 20-28, when the mother of James and John said, command these two sons of mine sit. One on your left and one on your right. How do you think that went over with the other guys? And there was an argument. So we see that there were relational strains between men right from the start. Now call me crazy, but isn't it true that we could produce similar lists at Lakeside Community Chapel? And the answer is yet, and don't worry, I'm not naming names, okay? So what's the point of all this? It's that in our diversity, we have to learn, beloved, how to get along with our brothers and sisters in the faith. If we expect to maintain a healthy church here at Lakeside, it's vital that we know how to deal with the relational challenges that come up between believers. And if you've been a Christian for more than five minutes, you know this can be a challenge. Amen? Come on, don't lie. The church is full of problems because it's full of problem people. Every member is a sinner, and although we're saved by grace, we still all reside in this unredeemable human flesh, and we all still battle sin, don't we? The point is this, the church grows in direct proportion spiritually to how well it deals with the sin that is within it. The Apostle Paul was acutely aware of this, and therefore he instructs us in this very thing in 1 Thessalonians 5, 14 and 15. And here we see that Paul identifies five specific categories of people that can seriously impede or disrupt the unity and the growth within the local church. And as we'll see, Paul had a great love and an affection for this church at Thessalonica. Paul deeply cared for this church. He praised the church for many reasons, but Paul also realized that this church was not perfect. And knowing that it wasn't perfect, he didn't stay passive about it. He instructed the church to confront sin and to root it out. And Paul knew that like with any church, the health of this church at Thessalonica depended upon the fact that the believers there would be engaged in doing just that. Now again, in our text, our message today is really pretty straightforward. Paul lists here five specific categories of sin that had to be dealt with. First of all, he talks about the unruly. Secondly, he talks about the fainthearted. Third, he talks about the weak. Fourth, he talks about the worrisome. And then finally, he talks about the wicked. And along with listing these errant behaviors, he also gives us the remedy. And what I love about this passage is he tells us what we're to do about this. How we're to relate to these particular people groups. And again, this confrontation is necessary if our church is going to stay healthy. Now before we begin, let me throw out this little nugget of truth to you. In case you're wondering, all five groups are alive and well at Lakeside. No doubt some of you are tempted to look around and say, ah, there's a weak one over there. But let me caution you and let me give you just a word of warning here. Because the reality is, at one time or another, every single one of us has fallen into one of these groups. Amen? So, we can get a little dose of humility right off the bat. Now, since we're jumping into this right at the end of this letter, I want to give you a little background here. I think having some context will help you to understand why Paul gives these admonitions in the first place. So this will kind of be like a cliff note version through this, but let me give you a little background and I think that will help to set the stage. First of all, Paul wrote this letter to the church at Thessalonica from Corinth in about AD 51. We know that Paul had originally traveled from Philippi to Thessalonica on his second missionary journey, and that's recorded for us in Acts chapter 16 through Acts chapter 18 verse 22. When he arrived there, he began teaching in the synagogue and we're told that some Jews believed after hearing the gospel. We're also told later that Hellenistic proselytes and some wealthy women were converted. Some of the believers there you may be familiar with, such as Jason, Argeus, Aristarchus, Segundus. And while the majority of converts were Gentiles, the Jews in Thessalonica were enraged at Paul's teaching, so much so, beloved, that they had Paul and Silas and their missionary team evicted from the city. Paul went to Berea, we're told. He preached there. And eventually, he encountered the same hostility there. So he left there and went to Athens. And eventually from Athens, he wound up in Corinth. And it was in Corinth that he wrote this first letter. Now, here's the thing. During that time, he sent Timothy back to Thessalonica. And within a year, Timothy sent a very good report back to Paul about the church. And this prompted Paul to write this first letter because even with a good report, Paul understood that he had a lot of legitimate reasons to write this church. He had a supreme concern and a warm affection for this flock. And since he had been separated from them for so long, he had heard of some problems and really wanted to address those issues. He sought to encourage the church. He sought to answer false allegations that had been made against him. He wanted to comfort this church that was going through persecution. He wanted to remind them of the importance of moral purity. He wanted to correct a wrong understanding of prophetic events, especially with respect to those who had fallen asleep in the Lord and how that related to Christ's return. And he also wanted to instruct them in the day of the Lord. Now all of these things and more are covered in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 all the way through chapter 5 verse 11. Then when we get to 1 Thessalonians 5 verses 12 and 13, Paul instructs the church how to regard those who are in church leadership. And I was really tempted to preach on this because it's so self-serving. That's a joke by the way. And I know Steve has preached on this. But this finally brings us to 1 Thessalonians 5, 14, and 15, again, where Paul outlines these five specific sins that are found in the church. And then he tells the church how they're to confront people that are engaging in these things. And again, even though he received this good report from Timothy, he was concerned that this church would have a strong and developing faith. And as I stated, the church was under persecution. There were those trying to discredit Paul. There were those that were giving the church a wrong understanding about prophecy. Some were being misled about the Lord's return. They thought they might miss it. Others were being challenged with moral purity. So it isn't surprising that among these believers, and especially those, beloved, who are yet immature in their faith, that the sinful behaviors that Paul would address would start to take hold in some of its members. And so with this in mind, we come to the very first area of relational confrontation. And the first area of relational confrontation, notice, is to admonish the unruly. Paul begins in verse 14 and says, And we urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly. Now, I love the way John MacArthur describes these types of people. He says, five types of struggling sheep that need healthy sheep to deal with them. How about that for a nice, simple, really grab-on type of command? Paul realized that each type of person could express detrimental behavior that could hinder the Thessalonian church's spiritual growth. And understand, beloved, that these same struggles exist in the church today. Now, as I read this and I thought about this, I realized, you know, it's very easy for us, isn't it, to read a list like this and just kind of go, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, any lists in the Bible. How many of you really park on lists in the Bible? You know, we just kind of read them and we just kind of say, yeah, yeah, that's okay, okay, okay. I get it, I get it. I want to suggest to you that I think these two verses in Scripture are largely neglected by most congregations today. In fact, I'm going to say that very few Christians take these two verses seriously. I believe the vast majority of people who fit into these categories are typically ignored in the church. Many give no thought about praying for these people, much less ministering to these people. And why is this? Well, here's why it is. Because it's easier in the church to live in a world of relational isolation. And boy, we're good at living there. I mean, let's face it. Isn't it far more comfortable and safer when our fellowship with others remains somewhat kind of superficial? We can stay at a safe distance from people because none of us likes confrontation. None of us likes conflict. We don't want to meddle or get involved in other people's business. And when problems come up, isn't it far easier to say, well, one of the elders needs to go talk to that person? After all, that's why we're paying them. But listen, beloved, that is dead wrong. Notice that Paul isn't exhorting the elders here, but the brethren. And we urge you, brethren. He's saying it's the church's collective responsibility to confront these people. It's the church at large that needs to get involved. It's the congregation at large who is to directly minister to their brothers and sisters in Christ. Now, of course, this includes pastors and those occasions when pastoral oversight is particularly warranted. But let me say this, far too often pastors are overloaded with problems because congregations at large have neglected their responsibility to deal with these kinds of people. The attitude is just, it's just not my responsibility. I just don't want to get involved. But it is your responsibility. It's all of our responsibility. And when we as a congregation fail to minister to our brothers and sisters in Christ, listen, the whole body is weakened. We dishonor Christ and His gospel. The testimony of the church is diminished. And although we're together, we're really not loving one another or the Lord as we should. You cannot be a Christian and stay uninvolved with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen? So to begin with, we see that each one of us has a responsibility to confront others when necessary. And I want you to notice something else here. Notice in the beginning of verse 14, we read, and we urge you, brethren, Notice that word, urge. I love the way this starts. Paul is writing here, and he's saying, listen, this is an urgent matter. I want you to have a sense of urgency as I'm writing you. Urge is from the Greek perikaleo, which means to come alongside of, or to implore, or to make an appeal, an urgent appeal. And the idea is that when we see people struggling in the following ways, Paul says, look, don't procrastinate. Don't put it off. Don't avoid it. Don't neglect your responsibility. Take the initiative and go help them. And the first appeal that we're to make is to admonish the unruly. We're to come alongside them with a sense of urgency. Admonish them. Now, this is very familiar territory to me. The word admonish is from the Greek word nephiteo, from which we get our English word newthetic, as in newthetic counseling. And many of you are familiar with that. Now this word in Greek has a very broad definition. It literally means putting into the mind. What I really love is this definition, putting sense into somebody's head. It means alerting someone to the consequences of sin. And this word is often hard to define in English because it has such a broad range of implications in the Greek. It can mean to rebuke, to correct, to encourage, to warn, to admonish, to exhort. And I want you to notice how Paul admonished others. In a warning that Paul gave to the Ephesian elders, he said in Acts 20 verse 31, Therefore, be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years, I did not cease to admonish each one with tears." And in this way, we're to admonish the unruly. But before we get into this, we have to ask, well, who are the unruly? Now the word in Greek for unruly often occurred in a military context and it referred to a soldier who was out of rank or one who was behaving in a disorderly or insubordinate manner. And many at Thessalonica became insubordinate through the sin of idleness, a problem that Paul addressed in 1 Thessalonians 4.11 and in 2 Thessalonians 3.6-11. That was a major problem in this church because of their view of prophetic things. But while this word can refer to those who are idle or apathetic, I believe that the context primarily refers to those who had an actively rebellious and insubordinate attitude. An insubordinate soldier jeopardizes the mission of any army and he becomes a danger to his fellow soldiers. And listen, the same is true in the church. If we fail to admonish those who are unsubmissive or unteachable and insubordinate, it breeds contention, it gives rise to schisms in the church, it can definitely destroy the unity of the church. And typically unruly people aren't involved with others relationally. They're kind of lone rangers. They can be combative. They seek at times to undermine church leadership. And they often want to introduce their own theological insights that are usually contrary to orthodox theology. These are people in the church, beloved, that just seem to be contentious. Every issue turns into an argument. Every issue turns into a debate. Your yes is their no. Your go is their stop. Anybody ever have experiences like that? Raise your hand. You don't have to say anything. Okay, I thought so. So do we have people like that? Yes, we do. So what are we supposed to do? Ignore them? Shun them? Call the pastor and tell him, hey, you better go deal with that person. I get that a lot. No. God's Word says you, you are to go and admonish that person. Now, this admonition, I think, requires some clarification. You know, there are many legalistic churches and individuals that take this to mean that to admonish them is to kind of render to them pirate justice. You know, hey, grab the unruly, make them walk the plank out of the church into the parking lot, and banish them forever. Right? I mean, that seems to be the easiest way to deal with it. But that would be a gross error in both interpretation and in intent. You see, you're to approach an unruly person, listen carefully, with an attitude of love and kindness and with a spirit of gentleness. You're to come alongside them. You're to alert them to the seriousness of what they're doing and the consequences of their behavior. You're to point out that their behavior is not characteristic of how we should be living the Christian life. You're to show them how their unruliness is producing disunity in the church? How it is opening them up to the Lord's chastening? And that's about it. No problem, right? Wrong. Why is this so rarely practiced in the church? Well, let me share why from a pastoral perspective. Pastor, can I see you? Sure, come on in. What's up? You know, if I go to that person you told me to confront, they might get angry and defensive. They might even verbally attack me. Okay, so what's your point? Well, wouldn't it be better just to leave it alone? No, beloved. Or not to leave it alone. We're to obey God's Word because we love God and we love our brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen? And how a person might respond to you, listen, is not the issue. We have to pray that they have humble hearts. We want to pray that they're going to respond favorably. We're not looking to pick a fight with them, but ultimately, beloved, we admonish the unruly because we love the Lord and we love that person enough to say, you're behaving in a sinful way and you're hurting the church. What do we read in Proverbs 27.6? Faithful are the wounds of a... Friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy. Psalm 141 verse 5 says, Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me. Now dear ones, I realize this is usually difficult. I know it can feel awkward and it can be very uncomfortable. Listen, I've admonished the unruly and usually they do get defensive. But haven't we all gotten defensive with others at times? Has anyone in this room never gotten defensive over what somebody said? I mean, it's our flesh, isn't it? We want a counterattack. We want a blame shift. Sometimes people just leave the church because they don't want to honestly deal with things. But I want you to think about this from God's perspective. Have there not been times when you have been rightly admonished and later seen the fruit of repentance and change? Has there ever been a time in your life when you have had someone care enough about you to tell you the truth, to tell you something that you didn't want to hear and it produced good? Years ago in my younger years, I'm middle-aged now. Oh, come on now. 72 is the new 52. That's what everybody tells me. Thank you. Thank you. I'm still vertical. But years ago in my younger years, I really was younger then, I was admonished by three elders at the Woodstock Bible Church in Illinois and I was rebuked because of an unruly attitude. And I got to tell you, when those three elders sat me down in a room and they started to say, Jack, we love you, but you are being a, I won't say what. I wanted to reach over the table and slug them. I thought, who are you to be talking to me like this? You don't even know me. Oh, they knew me. They rebuked me. But you know what? As I was convicted by the Lord, it changed me. And I thank God for those three men. I thank God for those three men that had the courage and the strength to come alongside of me and tell me not what I wanted to hear, but what I really needed to hear. Listen, do you have the courage to do this? You should. You know, it doesn't mean we become spiritual police over people's lives. It doesn't mean we follow them around with a microscope. It doesn't mean we follow them around with a baseball bat. It means we love them enough, beloved, to take interest in their spiritual sanctification and to lovingly help them if they become unruly. That's what it means. Well, that brings us to the second area of spiritual confrontation, which is, we notice here, encouraging the faint-hearted. Now, in the Greek, this word faint-hearted literally refers to small-souled people. These are people in our congregation, beloved, who are timid, who are easily discouraged. These are people that lack self-assurance and confidence. These are people that kind of like to stay in the middle of everything. They're not risk-takers. They hate change. How many of you hate change? Come on, be honest. I know you're out there. They fear the unknown. The faint-hearted worry about everything and they love what is safe. They love being on that common ground. They lack the boldness to accept the challenge of new ministries. They typically don't like different ways of doing things. And Paul would write this to the church because in his day, many in Thessalonica were fainthearted because of the persecution that was coming to the church. Paul had said, listen, I'm telling you right now, persecution is going to come. He had warned the church. But when it actually came, these are people that could not boldly endure the persecution. They were tempted to run. It's easier to run away, to get away. Many of them were fainthearted because they feared they had missed the rapture. They feared that those who had died must have missed Jesus' second coming. That when the day of the Lord came, because they missed it, they would be destroyed. They were very fearful. So how do we deal with people like this that are fainthearted? You know, I find it ironic how the flesh works. We usually find it very hard to admonish the unruly. But aren't we bold with the faint-hearted? It's easy for us to say, get your thumb out of your mouth. Pull yourself up by the bootstraps. What are you afraid of? We find it easier to do that, don't we? But no, that's not the way. Paul told the church you need to comfort and encourage these people. In other words, the idea here, beloved, is that we have to help this type of people pass their fears. We need to encourage the faint-hearted. That means we need to literally speak alongside of them. We need to jump into the sheep pen with them. And remember how Paul encouraged a young Timothy. In 2 Timothy 1 verses 5 and 6, Paul reminded Timothy of his mother and his grandmother and all they had taught him. And then Paul reaffirms Timothy's gift to preach and teach. And then notice what he said there in verse 7. He told Timothy, for God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Listen, there was a time in Timothy's young ministry, he was fainthearted. And Paul addressed it. And what a beautiful example of loving encouragement this is. You know, we have brothers and sisters in Christ that need our comfort. They need our reassurance. They need to be cheered up. The faint-hearted do well under regular discipleship. You know, there are many people that I meet with regularly, primarily, just to give them a dose of love and assurance. They just need to hear truths over again. They need that tender support that we can give them. They need to be reminded of the hope of the gospel, the sovereignty of God over their lives, that their lives have purpose, and to tell them about the joy of heaven and what awaits us. You know, sometimes people just need to come out of the river, get out of their canoes, get under our wings, get some encouragement and assurance, and then we send them on their way. But even so, there's another aspect to this that we can't neglect, and that is this, we do not want to let the faint-hearted stay where they're at. Remember that the church, beloved, is a living, breathing organism, and we all need to keep moving. Our sanctification is to be progressive. You'll notice that Paul didn't tell Timothy, well, Timothy, don't worry about your timidity. I'm sure in a few years you'll get it all straightened out. No. Paul wanted Timothy to change his mind on that. Why? Because it was vital for him. If he was going to be effective in church leadership, he needed to get rid of that timidity. And like us, like Timothy, we need to keep moving in the faith. I remember when I was in basic training in the army at Fort Lewis, Washington, One of the night drills we had was crawling through a mud pit for 100 yards under live machine gun fire. The machine guns were pivoted so they could only go three feet above your head, but I'm telling you, you would have thought it went right up your nose. And I can just remember all I wanted to do was to bury my face in the mud and freeze. But the DI's kept shouting, keep moving, keep moving, you've got to keep moving. And the reason they said that is this, because if you're in combat and you freeze, you are probably going to die. And so it is, beloved, in the church. Listen, we need to lovingly encourage the faint-hearted to keep moving. Don't be captured or paralyzed by your timidity. Then they become productive in the church, they begin to grow in their faith again, and that's what we're helping them to do. Well, that brings us to a third area of spiritual confrontation. In addition to admonishing the unruly, encouraging the faint-hearted, notice next that Paul writes that we're also to help the weak. Now, that term weak can be used to describe those who are spiritually immature, morally weak, even physically sick, But I think the context here refers to those who are very susceptible to sin. These are believers who struggle with being able to abandon sin, those who struggle with being able to obey the will of God. And these believers are weak in their faith. Paul describes them back in Romans chapter 14, verse 1, when he says, now except the one who is weak in faith, not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions, And Paul, we know, identified weaker brothers in passages such as 1 Corinthians 8-10, Romans chapters 14 and 15 as those, remember, who wouldn't eat meat offered to idols, those who kept themselves under the law because they didn't properly understand Christian liberty. And the idea that Paul is getting across here is that weaker brethren don't have a strong enough faith to experience the liberty and freedom that they have in Christ. There is a hypersensitivity to sin, and thus they remain in a state of hypervigilance. Their consciences hold them to non-essentials, and often this can produce legalism in a person where the man-made rules and rituals in their minds are elevated to the same authority as Scripture is. And remember, some of the saints Paul was dealing with in Corinth had come out of Gentile pagan backgrounds, And now in Christ, yet the thought of eating meat sacrificed to idols just repulsed them. Couldn't do it. Some Jewish converts couldn't totally abandon the feasts, the rituals of Judaism. And why is that? Because their consciences were yet raw. And they were susceptible to being wounded. Yet one of the greatest dangers of having this group in our church, is their susceptibility to false teachers and to doctrinal error. These are people that can be easily led astray by different movements, by a variety of religious separatists. They can get very extreme when they hear something and they come and they start promoting things that are ungodly, unbiblical, They're prone to starting schisms, and that can have the potential to spread rapidly through a church. So what are we to do with these people? Well, we're to help them. Help them. Very simplistic word, isn't it? But you know what? This word help describes a magnificent concept in the Greek. Because it literally means that we're to hold on to them firmly. We are to cling to them. We are to support them. We are to hold them up. And we get a sense of this again from Galatians chapter 6 verse 1, where Paul writes, Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted. One of the things that we have to understand about this group of people is that we cannot rush these people out of their weaknesses. You cannot jam progressive sanctification into the heart and mind of someone. We need to grab them. We need to cling to them. And we never ever want to violate the conscience of another brother or sister in Christ. Ever. We need to stick with them, strive with them. And the best way to deal with these people, to strengthen the weak, is to speak truth into their lives and live the truth of the Gospel out before them. You see, the more mature a believer becomes in his or her understanding of Scripture, the stronger he or she will become in aligning their convictions with Scripture. I remember when I was very immature in the faith and my actions and attitude were all over the place. Any of you have that experience? I wasn't grounded. I wasn't sure. But as I began to learn the Word of God, as I began to understand what God required of me, it informed the way I thought about things. And that's what we need to do. They become stronger as they learn the Word of God, and then they begin aligning their convictions with Scripture. And then they learn how to avoid both legalism and licentiousness. They find that godly middle ground. Well, that brings us to the fourth area of spiritual confrontation, dealing with the wearisome. Notice in 4D that Paul writes that we're to be patient with all men. We're going to skip this one. I'm kidding, we're not going to skip it. You know, beloved, there are commands in the Bible that are harder to swallow than a bowling ball. And I think this command to be patient is one of them. Now maybe I should have a mirror up here because I'm really preaching to myself. I think this verse is right up there with Philippians 2.14, Do all things without grumbling and complaining. How many of you have that down pat? That's what I thought. Let's face it, there are people in the church that just wear you out. They try your patience. They know just the right buttons to push to get you angry or to get you frustrated or to get you exasperated. They also know how to bring disappointment and discouragement to the table. Isn't it true, beloved, there are people that we can pour our lives into? We can train them, we can exhort them, we can try to strengthen them, encourage them. And yet, at the end of all of our efforts, it seems like there are people that show little or no progress, there's little or no spiritual growth, and they're generally unappreciative of any help that they've received. They seem to remain undisciplined, uncommitted. And then there are those who try our patience in other ways, People who are constantly late. People who dominate discussions. People who wait till the worship service starts to get up and go to the bathroom. Pastors who talk too long. Don't amen that. But I'm sure you could add a laundry list of things, right? Of people or ways that people try your patience. So what are we to do with these kinds of people? Put them in thumbscrews? Nope. No, we're to have patience with them. I know as a pastor, and I'm sure that you might be in the same boat, that if I am going to go off the rails in any area, this is probably going to be one of my downfalls. Steve and I have often joked that we both have the gift of hostility. I have it worse than him. I can survive admonishing the unruly. I can survive encouraging the fainthearted. I can survive helping the weak. But I often sacrifice myself on the altar of impatience and exasperation. And I'm sure, truth be known, you might be in the same boat. But in all seriousness, seriously, in all times, Even though it's very, very difficult, we must show patience and compassion to people who weary us. You know why? Because the spirit of impatience will lead us to a spirit of intolerance with others. Impatience suffocates joy. It negates all the one another's that scripture give us that hold us together. Listen, none of us are beyond growing impatient. It's how we handle that impatience that makes all the difference in the world. Now you might take great comfort to know that Jesus Himself grew very weary and exasperated at the slow growth of the disciples and their lack of understanding. Remember in a storm on the Sea of Galilee, the disciples cried out in Matthew 8.25, Save us Lord, we are perishing! Now, I don't know that we would have been any different, but I'm thinking you have the God of the universe in the boat. And Jesus responds in verse 26, and He said, Why are you timid, you men of little faith? In Matthew 17, a man brought his demoniac son to Jesus to heal him. Why? Because the disciples couldn't do it. Jesus responded in Matthew 17, 17, O unbelieving and perverted nation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to me. And then the disciples did something that I would have never done. They asked Jesus why they couldn't heal him. I would have walked away. I wouldn't want to know. And Jesus said, because of the littleness of your faith. And He said, if you only had the faith of a mustard seed, you could have done it. You could have moved mountains. But here's the thing, beloved, the Lord never abandoned the disciples. He never gave up on them. Through all of their slow progress, through all of their unbelief, through all of their lack of faith, even through their abandonment, Jesus was patient with them and went to the cross out of love for them and for us. And those men eventually changed the world, didn't they? I think Peter best summarizes how we're to respond to those who are weary. Matthew 18, 21 and 22, very familiar. Then Peter came and said to Him, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Peter probably thought, I got this one covered. Jesus said to him, I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. You know, this is a good verse for you and I to hide in our hearts. And I say that, beloved, because we cannot assign arbitrary limits on the amount of patience that we render to others. You know, extending patience to those who weary us doesn't mean we become passive. It doesn't mean that we accommodate sin. It doesn't mean that we just get all mushy with them. It means that as we confront them, we stay gracious. That we remind ourselves that a godly quality is that we need to be slow to anger and that we need to abound in loving kindness. And so what do we do? We continue to strive with them. And that brings us to the fifth and final area of spiritual confrontation. And that is we are never to repay evil for evil. Notice verse 15. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seeks after that which is good for one another and, notice, for all men. Now this admonition refers to those who engage in wickedness towards the brethren. Notice this admonition gets a whole verse all to itself. The wicked are those who literally seek to do evil. They are people who seek vengeance and retaliation against us. And when we talk about a person who wants to do evil, there's a baseness, there's a meanness in their hearts. They can be malicious. They can be immoral. And I would say that this is without a doubt the most difficult category of people to deal with in the church. I can say without hesitation that the people that have wounded and hurt me the most have not been those outside of the church, but those that are inside of the church. And I'm sure many of you have felt the same way. But beloved, take heart because at times people will hurt you because people are sinners. They may slander you. They may attack you face to face. They may gossip about you. Steve just preached on this. They may shut you out of the fellowship. They may show jealousy or envy or spite. So let me give a stern warning to anyone here today who is practicing these things. Understand when you do this, when you maliciously attack the brethren, you attack those for whom Christ died, you attack those whom Christ has called to himself. And that's a very dangerous place to be, especially with children. God says it would be better for a millstone to be hung around your neck and be drowned in the sea than to hurt another believer. So my loving advice to you is knock it off and repent. But how are we to deal with these people? First of all, we're not to repay evil for evil. Beloved, there is no place for retaliation in God's church. God alone has that right. In Romans 12, 17, remember that Paul warned, never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. And then in verse 19, he adds this, Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. And I think we do well to remember that. Let me tell you what I know for a fact. When it comes to repaying evil, God does it far better than you can do it. He does it far better than I could do it. You don't ever have to worry that God will fall asleep at the switch on this one. You may not see it right away, but God will do it better than you. But we have to take it farther than that. Paul says we're to always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. So not only are we not to pay back evil for evil, but we're to seek after that which is good. Now that's not easy, is it? It means we should pray for these people. It means that we should show humility, that we should return good for evil. And no better example is found in Scripture than what Joseph told his brothers in Genesis chapter 50 verse 20, when he said, As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. Let me say this, there is no more powerful way to disarm evil than to confront it head on with love. You know, we fail to realize how powerful love is. I remember when I first came to Lakeside back in 1988, there was a woman in this church that just did not like me. Can you believe that? Don't amen that. Ah, you can amen it. I mean, you know, I do have the gift of hostility, after all. This woman, I tried every which way. This woman just, I don't know what it was. But I purposed it. And I told Gail how frustrated I was. And I said, you know, I'm just really, I'm going to have to do something about this. And Gail said to me, she said, Jack, just keep loving this person. And I purposed myself to smother this lady in love. Whoops. You know, we became some of the best friends that I've ever had in this church in time. And it humbled me because God showed me the power of love. That's hard to refuse. It's easy to return evil for evil, isn't it? But to return love for evil is far more godly and it is far more powerful. Even if a person has to go to jail, we want them to see the gospel in us. Even when God wields the sword of divine justice and judgment on someone, we should seek their good. We should always act for the good of the church. So next time someone acts maliciously towards you, listen, smother that evil with love. You may be surprised at how God can use that to change an evil heart. So there you have it, beloved. Welcome to the church. The question for you is this, do you have the courage and the character to engage in relational confrontation? Do you love and care enough about the spiritual well-being of your brothers and sisters in Christ to lovingly confront them when necessary? And have you learned enough today to see that it's not just the responsibility of the pastors, this is a responsibility that is given to the whole church. Do you see that the health of our church absolutely depends upon you getting involved with those in our church family? Do not, do not live in a state of relational isolation. Do you see your call to admonish the unruly, to encourage the faint hearted, to help the weak, to be patient with the wearisome, and to repay evil with good? And listen, beloved, this is another thing. If you're confronted over one of these things because you fall into one of these categories, will you be teachable? Will you respond in a godly way? Knowing that your brothers and sisters care for you and want to help you. You know, may it always be said of us that we are a church that seeks the good of others. and that labors for the glory of God. And I'll say this, when we practice sound doctrine and fervent love in our relationships with one another, we will safeguard the health of our church. And if I haven't told you in a while, I love you all. Let's pray. Well, Father, how thankful we are for your love and grace that you have extended to us through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You are the God of our salvation. You are a delight to our souls, O Lord, and You are one who rejoices over us in love. And Lord, how thankful we are that You have loved us unconditionally. You have been so faithful to us, and Your faithfulness has never failed us. And in light of that, O Lord, I pray that You will help us to show that same love and care for our brothers and our sisters in Christ. Lord, that you would help us to maintain relationships that are God honoring and God exalting. Lord, that you would help us to have the strength of character, to admonish, to encourage, to help, to be patient with all of the brethren. And Lord, in doing so, we pray that you would continue to conform us more and more into the image of Christ. so that our unity in Him would be clearly evident to an unsaved world. And Lord, I pray that you would help us to guard the health of our church so that the joy and the unity and the love we have in fellowship is never compromised. And I ask these things in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.