"We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit."  1 Thessalonians 5:12-19

 If you desire to call forth the blessing and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, you will be vitally involved in God-honoring connectional friendships in the body of Christ (relationships that are reciprocal). If I am not involved with people or not using my giftedness, then I am pouring cold water on the fire of the Holy Spirit (quenching the Holy Spirit). The Spirit had come with power (1 Thessalonians 1:5) and sustaining joy (v. 1:6) to the church at Thessalonica. As the apostle Paul celebrates the reality of what the Lord is doing in the church, he warns them about disregarding the clear teaching of the Bible (1 Thessalonians 4:8) or pouring cold water on the work of the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19) through neglected, unconfessed, unforsaken, and unhated sin.

1. The baptism of the Holy Spirit and the calling to community, leads to a keen sense of responsibility.

"For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit... That the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together."  1 Corinthians 12:13, 25b-26

“Releasing the power of God through our lives into the hearts and souls of others requires that we both understand and enter into a kind of relating that only the gospel makes possible, a kind of relating that I call connecting. This kind of relating depends entirely on deep fellowship with Christ and then spills over on to other people with the power to change their lives, not always on our timetable or in the ways we expect but as the sovereign Spirit moves.”  Larry Crabb, Connecting, p. 5

“The Holy Spirit is given to move us into close companionship with others in Christ."  J.I. Packer, Keep in Step With the Spirit

2. Caring or responding to various groups in the church:

• Pastors and elders (vv. 12-13).

• Admonish the idle (2 Thessalonians 3:6, 7, 11).

• Encourage the faint-hearted or those who are easily frightened. Give confidence to those who are afraid. 

• Help the weak (those who are physically hurting or weak spiritually are to be embraced as beloved fellow strugglers/sojourners).

• Patient with all.

• The socially privileged or culturally advantaged (v. 15).

3. The personal pursuit which builds up an individual and flows into the community (vv. 16-18).

• Rejoice always (let the song within you flow out to others). 

• Pray without ceasing.

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." Romans 12:12

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving."  Colossians 4:2

• Be a person known for his/her thanks. Give thanks in all circumstances.

QUESTIONS:

1. The baptism of the Holy Spirit leads to ________________. 

2. What is the law of reciprocity?

3. What three imperatives in verses 16-18 are to be pursued by the believer? How do they “spill out” in community?

4. How does a lack of seeking to encourage, walk beside, and bless other believers lead to pouring cold water on the fire of the Spirit in our lives?

5. How does the gospel make it possible to enter into connecting relationships with other believers? How does a progressive understanding of sanctification give us freedom to relate to one another?

6. What are spiritually-intentional relationships?