Follow Thru Series

[Read I Thessalonians 2:1-4.]

Paul and the others knew that God wanted them to bring them the precious gospel no matter the opposition that awaited them. That was their calling. That was their gifting. That was their heart. They knew what God wanted them to do and they followed through no matter what the world and the devil threw at them.

God has things He wants us all to do as well. We need to be able to know just what the Lord wants us to do so that we can actually do His will in our lives.

Now in this sermon don’t have time to get into how to know exactly what the Lord wants us to do, but there are ways to find His will.

[Mention prayer, bible study, counselors.]

To be able to follow through on what the Lord wants, we have to know His will for our

lives and own it.

[7] Another thing that will help us follow through is to surround ourselves with people who will help us accomplish our goals. (Don’t surround yourself with people who will hold you back!)

Look at how Paul surrounded himself with useful people for this mission. Remember it was supposed to be him and Barnabas who went on this evangelistic trip but Barnabas wanted to take Mark with them. (The same Mark who had deserted them on a previous trip.) Paul disagreed and took Silas and Timothy instead.

[Read Acts 15:39-16:3a.]

And it seems that Paul made the right decision because Silas and Timothy have been right there by his side through even the worst of times and they never gave up. As a matter of fact, as they followed through together they were able to see God’s hand work through them all in incredible ways! You have to surround yourself with people who will help you, not hold you back, from accomplishing your goals.

[Read Ecclesiastes 4:9-12.]

Sometimes we have to make some wise and even tough decisions in life when it comes to who we spend the bulk of our time with. Are the people in your life helping you move forward or are they holding you back?

[TTU roommates story.]

Know what God wants you to do, surround yourself with people who will help, and finally, [8] rely on the power of God to enable you to follow thru.

In Philippians 4:13 Paul said, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” He knew that God would enable him to do what he was supposed to do. Look at how he expressed that back to the church he started in Thessalonica.

[Read I Thessalonians 1:5, 2:5-7, 13.]

Paul was saying that they didn’t come in there with a smooth sales pitch that could sell a ketchup popsicle to a woman wearing white gloves on a hot summer day. Paul was saying that they simply brought them the message of God and the power of God did the rest. They followed through on their mission relying on God’s power to do so.

Listen, our human strength is going to give out. Our motivational emotions are going to wear off. Pressure will come into our lives and try to knock us off course. Steadfastly rely on the power of Almighty God to follow through on what He’s called you to do.