The way of the Blessed -- “of God...from us...in you” (1Thess 2:13-17)
Intro - Our World is certainly in uncertain times -- 40 were killed by terrorists in India, wildfires in Greece, earthquakes in Japan & Peru, Hurricane Dean in Mexico & here at home floods, drought & an uneasy economy.
Yet in the midst of all this uncertainty and change, one thing remains sure, one thing is certain -- the Word of the Living God!
Abraham Lincoln called Scripture "God’s best gift to man.”
“The Bible stands like a rock undaunted mid the raging storms of time; its pages burn with the truth eternal; And they glow with a light sublime.”
Loved Ones, the Bible never fails. It is always up-to-date, &always speaks to the issues of our time. In it we read about God’s plan of salvation for us in Jesus Christ --The Gospel
If you embrace the gospel you find joy, peace and eternal reward. If you reject the gospel you remain guilty before a Holy God and face eternal judgement. The contrast couldn’t be more drastic. It is the choice between life and death, joy and despair, peace and terror.
De 30:19 "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
Jn 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
We see this drastic contrast this morning between the young chuch inThessalonica and those who persecuted them. Our study begins with a marvelous description of the Word of God.
Coporate Prayer - I hold in my hands the living Word of God; It is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path. In it I find all that I need for life and godliness. This morning O Lord, as I look into your Word may I receive & embrace it & never ever reject it.
Read 1Thess 2:13-16
“We thank God without ceasing” (13)
Commentary note. Paul had a thankful heart; he always recognized that the source of all blessings was God. Not like these agnostic Thanksgiving dinners - where you go around the table and give thanks for one thing - I am thankful for my family, I am thankful for my new iphone, it is poppin’, I am thankful for a few days off of school. How cute & fuzzy but a bunch of hogwash. Who are you thanking -- the door knob? Thanksginving requires an object of our thanks --- Jas 1:17
The Way of the Blessed -- “of God...from us...in you” (13)
“...of God”
Paul preached w/ authority & conviction b/c he was confident that what he spoke was God’s Word.
Gal 1:11,12 the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
This was the special role that the Apostles & Prophets -- speaking the Word of God.
2Sa 23:2 "The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue.
Heb 1:1 God, at various times & in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets
2Pe 1:20,21 ... holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
That is why the prophets cried out “Thus says the Lord” In the same way the Apostles spoke the Word of God.
Acts 13:44 "The whole city assembled to hear the Word of God."
Who would have the audacity to claim that very words coming out of their mouth were the words of God, right! So, this must be refering to the OT -- No! Then it must mean the NT, right? NO, the NT wasn’t even cannonized!! this is referring to the preaching of Paul.
Paul stood u p & spoke up, and as he spoke, they knew what they were hearing was far more than the words of a mere man. They were hearing the Word of God.
Question: Since the Word of God comes through ordinary people how can we distinguish it from the false ramblings of phony prophets?
The Grace Newletter will deal with this exact issue for the next few months as it compares Biblical truth with the false claims and doctrines of cults and world religions.
“...from us”
We have a part to play in the distirbution of God’s blessings. We are not the Apostles but we have the Apostles doctrine; so, our task remains the same -- to speak what God has said; to preach the Word.
If you remember from verse 9, a preacher (a herald) is one speaks the kings word to the people nothing more nothing less. His motto is: Stand up, speak up and shut up!
“...in you”
Received it (they heard & listened to the gospel) & Welcomed it -- embraced it as truth
You should come to worship with an attitude of prayerful anticipation and great expectation.
Far to many of us come with a just be happy I’m here attitude and they haven’t prepared themselves to worship and they haven’t prayed that God would wonderuously use those who are leading in worship and the word.
But my favorite preacher is on vacation today! It’s not about your favorites; it is about the Word of God. Rom 1:16
Those who are leading should have spent hours thoughout the week in preparation to lead you into the Lord’s presence and in the Word.
True story: one of the leaders of a large chruch found a young pastor in his office praying for the flock. He said, “We are not paying to pray. Pray on your own time!” Let me give you some adivce don’t pay any leader who isn’t taking time to pray.
This is not the case in many churches, b/c (a) they don’t believe that Bible is the Word of God or (b) they don’t believe in it’s power -- they think that a marketing stategy is nessecary to affectively reach the masses.
This process leads to a changed life.
“effectively works”
Col 1:6ff - it saves us..it blesses us... It corrects us...It perfects & equips us... it guides us...It frees us...It strengthens us...It counsels us... & It rewards us.
“I am here to give testimony that I was lost in sin for 28 yrs; but now I have been saved by Jesus Christ.” Wayne Whitmore.
“In those who believe”
1Cor 2: 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Point: Maturity is a process, spirituality is an state of being. Here was a church in Thessalonica brand new in Christ but they were walking in obedience to the Spirit of God and the Word of God.
“Imitators of the churches of God”
you can’t lead folks heavenward unless you are climbing there yourself.
Question: If folks came from other churches to imitate us what would they learn from us; what would they learn from you? Your family? As a single?
gossip, complaining, complacent
unity and no compromise and love, rejoiceing
“Suffered the same things” “from your own countrymen” Jew and Gentile.
Effective change is a test of the completed prcess above and if this process is thwarted or ignored then the result will be complete different.
The Way of the Cursed (15,16)
“Who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets” (15)
All of a sudden Paul makes a 180 degree turn and writes about the way of the cursed.
At this point in their history Israel as a nation has chosen the way of the cursed.
Remember Deut 30:19 & 28:15
There it is, blessing/cursing, they chose cursing b/c they chose disobedience.
Mt 23:29-33 & 37 “Killed the prophets” Jesus said, Go ahead & kill me too -
Mt 27:23 -25 - that is just what they did.
“They do not please God” Why b/c they rejected Jesus “This is my beloved Son”
“Contrary to all men” Why b/c they were seeking to crush the spread of the gospel
“filling up the measure of their sins”
God’s patient is about to run out! I have just about had enough of you; that was the last straw. God doesn’t act in judgment until iniquity has reached a certain point...and then He acts. And when the cup is full, judgment is inevitable. Mt 21:33-41 The Parable of the Tenants.
“The wrath of God has come upon ( is hanging over ) them”
Sinners in the hands of an angry God; Destruction of Jerusalem or eternal judgement
Jn 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who doesn’t obey the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God...what?...abides on him,"? It’s there waiting until the moment of release.
Lk 23:28 what a strange thing to say; He was the one about to be crucified. to suffer and die. He knew t hat God’s patient would soon be over.
This is not an indiment ag. individual Jews but the nation as a whole & the religous leaders.
Remember it was a Roman cross and our sins that nailed Him there.
Remember God still loves his people and we should, too
Rom 3:1 What advantage is there in being a Jew? you would expect him to nothing at all but he says much in every way.
Rom 9:3 “He loves them” For the gospel is first for the Jew then the Gentile
But being an Isrrealite or following Judism will not get you off the hook -- you are responsible you for your rejection of Jesus.
Conclusion
This is not anti-Semitic passage as some may suppose but a picture of all of us who reject Jesus. But church history shows us that some within the church have viewed these verses as an excuse for anti-Semitic behavior.
As early as the 4th century some Christian leaders began speaking ag. the Jews. John Chrysostom called them vile animals based on a misunderstanding of Scripture
In the early part of the 13 century the Fourth Lateran church council forced Jews to live in getthos and wear uniforms to mark them out as ignoble. This is not Nazi Germany but 13 century Christianity.
Even Luther shortly before he died wrote a paper called The Jews & Their Lies b/c he wrongly believed that all Jews would be saved if they heard reformed gospel and when they didn’t he turned on them. Compare his two writing one from his early years and the other from The Jews & Their Lies
“If I had been a Jew and had seen such dolts and blockheads govern and teach the Christian faith, I would sooner have become a hog than a Christian. They have dealt with the Jews as if they were dogs rather than human beings; they have done little else than deride them and seize their property....If the apostles, who also were Jews, had dealt with us Gentiles as we Gentiles deal with the Jews, there would never have been a Christian among the Gentiles ... When we are inclined to boast of our position [as Christians] we should remember that we are but Gentiles, while the Jews are of the lineage of Christ. ...If we really want to help them, we must be guided in our dealings with them not by papal law but by the law of Christian love. We must receive them cordially, and permit them to trade and work with us, that they may have occasion and opportunity to associate with us, hear our Christian teaching, and witness our Christian life. If some of them should prove stiff-necked, what of it? After all, we ourselves are not all good Christians either.”
Luther writes that the Jews are a "base, whoring people, that is, no people of God, and their boast of lineage, circumcision, and law must be accounted as filth."[1] They are full of the "devil’s feces ... which they wallow in like swine,"[2] He argues that their synagogues and schools should be set on fire, their homes destroyed and property and money confiscated. They should be shown no mercy or kindness,[4] afforded no legal protection,[5] and these "poisonous envenomed worms" should be drafted into forced labor or expelled for all time. "If we wish to wash our hands of the Jews’ blasphemy and not share in their guilt, we have to part company with them. They must be driven from our country" and "we must drive them out like mad dogs." [30]
What can we learn from thisThe best of men are men at best.
The only proper attitude toward the Jews who killed Christ is the attitude that Jesus had -- love and compassion
This is the balance: We have to stand ag Judaism which has rejected Christ but we must love the Jewish people and respect their place in God’s palns and purposes.
There is nothing more important the the salvation of your soul - Recieve & embrace the gospel and have life and blessing Reject it and abide under the wrath and curse of God.
Today is the day of salvation!
