This sermon, based on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:28, was delivered during Oamaru Baptist Church’s celebration of its 143rd Foundation on 16 August.
Introduction: A Vision of a Watchful Church
I composed the theme for that picture, and my friend “Gemini” helped generate it. The base picture is my photo of Oamaru town as seen from the Oamaru Lookout Point. I was thinking: what would represent a watchful church?
So, there’s a family there representing the men and women; we’ve got toddlers, a baby, and little children—a boy and a girl—and that represents our church. And we’re looking over the town, watching the sun rise. For me, that’s an image of a watchful church. That’s us, Oamaru Baptist Church, looking, watching, praying for the town on a cold August morning.
Every moment of our lives is sustained by a simple, unconscious freedom: inhaling and exhaling. And I put an emphasis on that because it’s winter; it’s the time when we can see our breath, okay? And when your breath is warm enough, you create a wider cloud — as if I go and jog in the early morning, for example, people may mistake me for “Oh, the pastor’s vaping.” And that’s the breath that comes out of us.
Do you recall having—especially mums, having a baby, and even dads—and you’ve got a baby in a cot? The sleep is so sound. The baby is sleeping so soundly that you cannot hear the breath, okay? Then you try to listen; you try to feel if any air is coming out of the baby’s nostrils. Have you done that? I’ve done that. Because I’ve read about SIDS, which is the sudden infant death syndrome, and I was afraid our daughter might be having that one, but I just prayed.
And praise God for couples who have stayed together for many, many years. Because when you’re sleeping soundly as a baby, you can’t hear any sound. One grows up, accumulates some fat and cholesterol, and suddenly one is snoring. Thank you for sticking it out. Thanks to my wife for bearing with me because I’m a snorer. That’s what love is all about.
The Rhythm of Spiritual Breathing
But for a breathing church, we need to find that rhythm of inhaling and exhaling. To live as a community of faith, we must learn what to inhale and what to exhale.
Today we explore this rhythm in 1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:28, discovering that we are called to inhale the hope of Christ’s return and exhale encouragement and practical love to those around us. That’s the inhale-and-exhale cycle we need to learn and practice.
Inhaling the Hope of the Resurrection
Our spiritual life begins with a deep intake of the gospel of hope. Paul writes to a community that was deeply unsettled by the loss of their loved ones, and he tells them clearly that he does not want them to be uninformed or to grieve like those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). During the time of the Thessalonian church, people were dying under dire circumstances.
This hope is centred on the historical and future reality that Jesus died and rose again (1 Thessalonians 4:14). And not only that: he rose again, went up to heaven, and is coming back again. And this hope is not a dim or clouded vision, or even a vague wish. It is a firm guarantee that when the Lord returns with a loud command and the trumpet call of God, the dead in Christ will rise first (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
After that, those who are still alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17). This promise ensures that we will be with the Lord forever, a reality that should give us profound comfort (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18). That is why, at a believer’s funeral, what you see is not grief alone, but the hope in the hearts of every believer.
Paul reminds us that this hope of salvation should be worn like a helmet (1 Thessalonians 5:8), protecting our minds from the world’s despair and darkness. And what the world is doing to us is clouding our minds, especially the young people, the children—clouding their minds and putting doubts about the reality of God and the hope of eternal life. Therefore, as mature believers, it is our responsibility to share the truth and hope with our children.
The Character of a Watchful Church
So, what is the character of a watchful church? We talk about the breath of a watchful church. We know we inhale the hope of eternal life and the hope of Jesus’ return and being with him. What should be the character of a watchful church?
Paul shifts from the hope of the resurrection to the need to remain alert (1 Thessalonians 5:1-6). He notes that while the day of the Lord will come unexpectedly like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2), believers should not be surprised because they do not belong to the darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:4).
And we hear all about people telling us that the Lord is coming soon, the Lord is coming soon. And they would say, “Oh, look at what is happening today. He is coming soon.” But for a confident Christian who believes that he is with the Lord already, well, let the Lord come.
A watchful church is a community that lives intentionally in the “daylight” of God’s truth (1 Thessalonians 5:5). People talking about the Lord’s coming with all these signs and death—examine it in the truth of God, refusing to be lulled into the spiritual slumber of the surrounding world (1 Thessalonians 5:6). It’s so easy to be complacent and to be lazy about our faith (1 Thessalonians 5:5-6).
A watchful congregation is characterised by alertness and sobriety (1 Thessalonians 5:6), where members actively “build each other up” rather than waiting for external instruction or professional leadership to spark faith (1 Thessalonians 5:6, 11).
Such a church understands that while the day of the Lord may come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night, it does not come in darkness because Christ’s light shapes its character and future (1 Thessalonians 5:2, 4-5). Being watchful means embracing the “armour of faith and love” and maintaining constant spiritual discernment, testing everything and holding fast to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:8, 21). That is the watchful church.
The Anatomy of Watchfulness
Let’s talk about the anatomy of a watchful church, and we can gauge ourselves to see whether we are this kind of church.
A watchful church has members who are proactive in the faith. Members actively build each other up rather than waiting for somebody to spoon-feed them (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Paul commended the Thessalonian believers with this phrase in verse 11: “just as in fact you are doing.” Build each other up just as in fact you are doing (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
We are also in constant discernment, testing everything and holding fast only to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Discernment is the ability to judge well, see what is not obvious and tell the difference between right and wrong—that is wisdom—or to know the difference between truth and falsehood.
To test everything means carefully examining spoken messages, teachings, and prophecies to see whether they align with God’s truth (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21). Discernment is based on God’s truth. It’s not based on your prejudice, your culture, or your tradition. It is based on what the Bible says.
And so, when they find a teaching that is true and good, do you remember that term for those believers who examine the word? The Berean believers, right? Like them, we must hold on to it (Biblical truth) tightly while rejecting anything false or evil (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22).
Sure enough, in the history of the church, not everything was good, was it? I believe there were conflicts, disagreements, and everything. But did we (the church) hold on to it and let those conflicts and disagreements govern our life as a church? No. We hold on to what is good and honourable before the Lord.
We must be fully armoured, embracing the armour of faith and love as the primary defence against the spiritual slumber of the surrounding culture (1 Thessalonians 5:8).
The devil and the world want those who are sleepy and lazy in their faith. They just want to wait and wait. And you know what? Those who don’t study the Word, don’t even pray—what would happen? They hear a word here, a word there, and before they know it, they are following a questionable group or a cult.
Don’t let those things happen to us. We need to be fully armoured in the first place, but we should also clothe ourselves (protecting with a breastplate) with faith and love and the hope of salvation as a helmet (1 Thessalonians 5:8).
Honouring Our Local Heritage
Peter (Rodwell) has mentioned this last year (during our 142nd Founding Anniversary) and earlier this morning—the nine-year wait. We see a beautiful historical example of this watchfulness in the early days of the Oamaru Baptist Church.
For the first nine years, this small group of 23 believers had no official pastor. In such a situation, it would have been easy to grow lazy, lose hope, or simply give up. Yet they chose to stay spiritually awake (1 Thessalonians 5:6).
Instead of waiting for a leader to arrive, the members took turns preaching, teaching, and caring for one another, literally building each other up in many ways (1 Thessalonians 5:11). And so, when the first minister finally arrived in 1892, he found a healthy, active church because the members had spent nine years keeping watch over their own souls.
And under the vigorous ministry of Reverend Arthur Dewdney, the young Baptist church forged ahead.
Watchful members and the pastor’s vigorous ministry produced a lively, growing church. And that is what we are doing, and what we are trying to do better.
Exhaling Encouragement and Practical Duty
If hope is what we breathe in, then encouragement and practical duty are what we must breathe out. Paul gives the church a series of instructions for maintaining this healthy exhale.
We are called to acknowledge and hold in high regard those who work hard among us and care for us in the Lord (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13). We must live in peace with one another and always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else (1 Thessalonians 5:13, 15).
Paul specifically urges us to warn the idle, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, and practice patience with everyone (1 Thessalonians 5:14).
It sounds easy to say, but it’s hard to do. But for the sake of a breathing church, we need to do it. There is risk in doing that. People might get hurt, but if you come in the name of the Lord, if you come fulfilling the command to exhale these actions based on what you inhaled—the hope of eternal life—then that would be something that must be accepted by a faithful person.
Furthermore, he identifies three personal habits that should be as constant as our breathing.
- Rejoicing always (1 Thessalonians 5:16);
- Praying continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17) (in some translations, pray without ceasing); and
- Giving thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for us, and it keeps us spiritually vibrant (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
As a child, I wondered, “How do I pray without ceasing?” And I had this illustration by our professor when I was studying theology. It’s something like this: he said, “Two friends were walking, and they were nearing one’s home, and it was burning. So, what do they do? One said, “Let’s hurry up and help.” But the other fellow said, “No, let’s stop and pray.” But the other friend said, “We can pray while we hurry up and help.”
So that’s a simple illustration of praying without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). You can do your work, but you’re still praying because your mind and heart are attuned to the Lord.
Praying isn’t limited to what we do before we sleep. And some would pray while lying down and end up saying their “amen” the following morning—well, I’m guilty of that sometimes. Those are prayer habits we grew up with.
In our daily walks, we breathe in a continuing cycle of rejoicing always, praying continually, and giving thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
It’s like entering an ICU where the respirator rhythms are normal until you hear a plain flatline sound, as they say. Something’s wrong (with a patient); we need to resuscitate.
But the breathing and living church has that continuing cycle of rejoicing, praying continually, and giving thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
God’s Faithful Provision
And because of that, the Lord has been so good to the Oamaru Baptist Church.
One illustration is that the pioneers were praying, “Let’s build a gathering place,” because they’d been moving between many buildings around town at the time. “Let’s build a simple wooden shed.”
But Gideon Rutherford had a different idea. He donated a section there in town, and they built a magnificent church of Oamaru white stone that stood for generations.
And in 2012, we had another lesson in faith, because the church is not the building. That beautiful white stone is no longer there, but the church is the people, and we are still here worshipping the Lord.
143 years later, in 2026, Oamaru Baptist Church received unexpected financial assistance from the Tabernacle Trust to help us renovate our toilets, kitchen, and, God willing, other areas of the church building. The Hopewell Trust continues to support this church’s pastoral ministry.
God has provided holistic provisions for Oamaru Baptist Church over the years. And that is made possible because of our rejoicing always, praying continually—a continuing faith, a living, breathing church (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
A Challenge to Breathe Together
So, my earnest and emphatic challenge to you this morning, as I conclude. I want to speak directly to those of you who feel as though your spiritual breathing has become shallow or strained for whatever reason.
Perhaps you are walking through a season of intense grief, and the promise of the resurrection feels like a distant melody rather than a present hope for us (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
Or perhaps you feel disheartened or weak, and the command to rejoice always feels like a heavy burden you cannot carry (1 Thessalonians 5:14, 16). You cannot find ways and means to come back to rejoicing.
My challenge to you as an individual believer is this: do not try to catch your breath alone. We need to be breathing together. Paul instructs us to encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11). And if you are weary, let this community, the OBC community, help you.
If you are strong today, look for someone who is struggling and offer them the breath of encouragement you have received from Christ.
Do not quench the Spirit by isolating yourself (1 Thessalonians 5:19). Instead, let us commit this week and every day to being children of the light (1 Thessalonians 5:5) who actively seek out the weak and disheartened among us to breathe life into them (1 Thessalonians 5:14).
And oftentimes, the sharing of burdens leads to having that feeling of comfort that somebody is sharing your burden in prayer.
Trust in the faithfulness of God, who has not appointed you to suffer wrath, but to receive salvation through Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:9, 24).
The Challenge for Oamaru Baptist Church
The call to Oamaru Baptist Church, for us, and my challenge, is to live as a truly watchful church by reclaiming the proactive legacy of our early pioneers, who, during a nine-year wait without an official pastor, refused to lapse into spiritual slumber and instead stayed awake by preaching, teaching, and caring for one another (1 Thessalonians 5:6, 11).
We shouldn’t stop. Just because we have these numbers now doesn’t mean we should stop and relax. Our situation could be gone at any moment if we try to slumber (1 Thessalonians 5:6).
The respect and honour they showed to those who worked hard, cared, and admonished brought about a breathing, living Baptist church (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).
Just as Paul urged the Thessalonian believers to encourage the disheartened and help the weak (1 Thessalonians 5:14), you are challenged to move beyond passive faith and actively exhale the hope of the resurrection in your daily practical duties—rejoicing always, praying continually, and giving thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
This is our challenge. Let us put God’s agenda before ours, yield control, and trust in the faithfulness of God, who has not appointed us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation that is given to all and not to a select few (1 Thessalonians 5:9).
Put His agenda before ours. YIELD CONTROL. Trust in the faithfulness of God, who has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to receive salvation that is given to all and not a select few.
Guardians of the Spirit’s Fire
Another piece of advice, and a challenge, is that we should be guardians of the Spirit’s fire. The Church must not quench the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19) by allowing human control, pride, immaturity, and disrespect to take over from God.
We must not allow personal agendas to flourish. But in acknowledging God’s all-knowing power, we must put His agenda before ours so we do not stop, stifle, or put out the Holy Spirit’s work (1 Thessalonians 5:19-20).
The church must move forward in faith, making it a dedicated house of prayer, worship, and service. We must not trust in human cleverness but instead walk and wait humbly for God’s power and direction.
Let us trust that as we remain faithful in these daily acts of service, the God who provided an “unexpected upgrade” for our church building in 1889 will be equally faithful to sanctify us completely and sustain our spirit, soul, and body until the return of our Lord (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
A Living, Breathing Church
What that teaches us: we might have a beautiful, functional building, but we can’t take it with us when we depart this world.
But what we can take with us is our living, breathing soul that inhales hope and breathes out love and faith to His people.
We inhale the historical hope of the resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:14). We stand on the solid foundation of God’s past faithfulness to this congregation. We live actively in the daylight of watchfulness (1 Thessalonians 5:5-6), and we exhale encouragement and practical love into our community (1 Thessalonians 5:11, 14).
May the God of peace himself sanctify you through and through (1 Thessalonians 5:23). May your spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless until the return of our Lord (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
Inhale the hope, exhale the love, and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all (1 Thessalonians 5:28). Amen.
Closing Prayer
Let me pray. Father God, when we look at you, we are always coming short of the right breath. As your believers, as your followers, we need your help, dear Lord. And as we continue to celebrate your goodness, may your Holy Spirit continue to work in us. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. Amen.
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