A Wise Investment (1Thess 1:6-2:2)
Last week I was at Hess buying some fuel and I got stuck behind a woman who was buying a stack of lottery tickets. I am sorry to say it; but that just grinds my nerves. You know what I mean don’t you? Some of these lottery junkies take forever like kids in a candy store - I’ll take two of these and 6 of those & maybe one of those red ones as well. Who would have thought that there would be so many irritating choices - Cash 3, Play 4, Fantasy 5, Mega Money and to quote their web page “a wide variety of fun & exciting Scratch Off Tickets to choose from”. Please, all I want is some gas! But as I was standing there flipping out on the inside, she looked at the cashier and complained,”I giving you all this money and I probably won’t even get a dollar back.” Now that is just pitiful!! What a vain pursuit! But it should come as no surprise -- Gambling is like that; and so are many investments people make.
In fact, one of keys to success is wise investment. How should I invest my time and energy? Where should I invest my money? important questions for all of us to ask.
This morning we will consider an investment that always pays back much more than you could ever imagine.
As Paul says in 1Thess 2:1,2 Our coming to you was not in vain.
The last two weeks we focused on the cost of discipleship. Suffering, hardship and sacrifice are all marks of following Jesus. Yet in spite of this, the church at Thessalonica continued to grow and lived with great joy knowing that they were honoring their Lord and Savior. Two principles based on this theology of suffering:.
Human joy fades under hardship but the joy of the Lord rises above hardships - It’s transcendent joy.
Sacrifice, suffering and hardships are investments in eternity that pay earthly dividends.
The cost that you pay for following Jesus is always a wise investment. It is always time, energy and money well spent. This is what the HS wants to teach us this morning.
To set up this point let’s first look at passages in the gospels: Mt 6:19ff & Lk 16:13ff
Pray & Read 1Thess 1:6-2:2
Changed lives - “followers of us and the Lord” (6)
“followers” is from the Greek word mimay-tace where we get mimic -- lo copy.
Instead copying the behavior of the world they copied the behavior of their leaders. instead of living like the Devil; they began living like the Lord.
Carol hurt her wrist last week so she wrapped an ace-bandage around it; well, before long Elisa & had one around their wrists; Wes had one around his knee ; and so that Hudson wouldn’t be lefted out, I helped him wrap one put one around his head like a mummy.
Question: Why would Paul place himself before the Lord? Shouldn’t we follow the Lord first? Of course, Paul is saying is that we learn about the Lord’s values by watching His children.
What are those behind you learning about the Lord?
Child training can be described in three stages: Follow me b/c I say so; Follow me b/c God says so; Follow God b/c it is right.
For a young believer in Christ the progression is similar: “Follow me as I follow Christ.” to “be imitators of God as dear children.”
Imitating Christ works out in 3 ways in 9,10: holiness - Turned to God from idols”, service - “To serve the living & true God”; expectation - “To wait for His Son from Heaven”
“Turned to God from idols” (9)
Notice the direction of this action: to God, from idols.
Not, “from idols to God.” You do not leave your idols for some reason then hopefully find God
God taps you on the shoulder then your eyes are opened the beauty, the glory and greatness of God - “have you not known”; then you become willing to forsake your worthless pursuits.
Before you can live right you first need to be made right.
Salvation is more than a promise of Heaven it is a new allegiance and a new lifestyle. It is not fitting Jesus to our lives somewhere. It is a radical change of behaviors & attitudes. This is not easy - changing habits that have become ditches in your heart and mind. But God has broke in & “Every valley shall be exalted and every Mt and hill made low”. This does not mean believers never sin, but it does mean that God’s saving grace accomplishes a real change in a person’s life.
"Becoming a Christian involves a very definite break with non Christian habits. Whatever our previous background has been there must be a turning from our idols. The act of conversion involves a change of the direction of the will. There is a decisive happening, a reorientation of the whole of life." Leon Morris
“To serve the living and true God” (9)
Doulos means a bondslave - to give yourself over to the authority of another.
You turned from serving idols to serving God, you turned from serving self to serving others
In his book Habits of the Heart, physiologist Robert Bellah claims that TV has caused Americans to forget how to serve.
TV is all about entertaining us’; fulfilling our interests & our desires; thus, we lose our desire to help others. But when we are consumed with our own ease & entertainment we lose our sense of belonging, our connectedness which leads to loneliness & ultimately despair.
Jesus said, he came "not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give himself”
To wait for His Son from Heaven” (10)
Notice: Every chapter of 1 Thess. ends with a reference to the coming of the Lord.
“you turned from idols to serve the true living God, and your whole lives now look forward to the coming of his Son from heaven “ Philips Translation
2 Tim 4: 8 - Waiting implies readiness and readiness implies preparation like the five wise virgins in Mt 25
“From the wrath to come “ (10) We eagerly await Christ’s return b/c He has rescued us from wrath
The wrath could be referring to two things: The wrath of God during the Great Tribulation or The wrath of God in the great-white-throne judgment.
I believe it is referring to the wrath during the Tribulation describe in 5:2,3
Cultural Impact “Examples to all” (7)
“Example” Tupas -- Bruise, imprint on a coin; You became exact reproductions
The followers became the followed.
After you have been following your leaders for a while a strange thing happens - you look behind you and see someone following you!
This is the nature of discipleship
Someone said that everyone one of us should have a Paul, Barnabas and Timothy in our lives.
Exhorter, one to listen to and follow
Encourager in the journey
Follower - one wo is following you.
“Sounded forth” (rang out) A sounding board
Here is the exciting thing about a sounding board. It does not create sound but reflects it and magnifies it so that others may hear.
Channels of God’s grace and power. Loved Ones I see this here at Grace.
This isn’t accomplished through marketing campaigns or crusades; Rather you have experienced real change in your lives then looked for opportunities to explain this new joy and peace to others. Then through a network of shared meals and Bible studies, the Gospel without fanfare is spreading throughout Port Charlotte.
“Channels only blessed Master but with all Thy wondrous power...”
“Your faith toward God has gone out” (8) Has been made public
Has been made public - Mike Z trusting God for children and George M. trusting God for his orphans
Missionary story: A poor widow in Guatemala was down to her last twenty cents and without food. She began to pray about her problem. As she was praying, she felt a deep conviction that God was telling her to go to the supermarket the next day and fill up several carts with groceries and take them to checkout stand #7 for check out. This was not just a vague feeling on her part but a deep, Spirit-born conviction. She went to the supermarket the next morning, loaded enough groceries into carts to last two or three months, and took them to checkout stand #7. Just as she got there the cashier closed the stand to go out to lunch. She suggested that the woman take her groceries to another stand, but the woman said, "No, I cannot. My Father told me to take these through checkout stand #7." So she waited while the clerk went to lunch and came back again. The clerk was surprised to see the woman still there, and started to check out her groceries. Just then an announcement came over the loudspeaker: "This is our seventh year of business and we are pleased to announce that whoever is checking out at checkout stand #7 gets free groceries."
That kind of faith sells itself - doesn’t need a marketing strategy.
“So that we do not need to say anything” (8)
I’ll give you a little secret. Even though he didn’t need to, he did. Couldn’t resist it. 2 Thess 1:4,
"For they themselves declare concerning us ." (9)
They who? People in the marketplace & around the water cooler -- It’s the word on the street. "Everywhere I go instead of me telling them about you, they telling me about you."
Conclusion
Hudson Taylor went to China in the 1850’s when there were only a few hundred professing Christians. He started China Inland Mission to reach the whole country but when the commumist took over in the 1950’s all the missionaries were tossed out the young church went underground b/c they faced intense persecution. But an amazing thing happened the Church continued to grow from aroound 1,000,000 to last count over 75,000,000. The Christian community in China is larger the Communist Party membership. That is a wise investment.
What things in you life need to change so that you are more invested in the spreading of the gospel instead of your own interests and pursuits?
