Living with a View to the Future
The Foundations of a Godly life
Acts 17:1-9; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-3
Believing in the first coming of Jesus Christ with the gospel is foundational to a godly life.
Believing in the second coming of Jesus Christ in Glory is foundational to a godly life
The godly life built on this foundation leads to a
faith that works
love that labors
hope that endures
Introduction
Slide
Two men were standing by the side of a highway holding up a sign that read, “The end is near! Turn around now before it’s too late!” As cars came by, they would lift the sign high and point to the words.
The first car that came down the road slowed down and yelled at the men to “Leave us alone you religious nuts!” The car then sped up and took off down the highway. From around the curve, the two men heard screeching tires and a big splash. One man looked at his buddy and said, “Do you think we should just make a sign that says, ‘The Bridge is Out?’”
“Keeping Your Faith Alive” by Brian Bill accessed 9/9/09 at http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=56217&ContributorID=4381
Whenever we here the phrase the end is near, many of us often think of a religious nut on the street corner preaching to those who have no interest in listening. People have been saying the end is near for hundreds of years and the end still has not come so it is easy to not really think about Jesus returning or really have the reality of that affecting our lives.
The truth is, is that the end could be very near, or it still could be number of years away. The fact is that no one knows the day or the hour. Jesus tells us that only Father in heaven knows the day and the hour (Matthew 24:36). We are told that the end will come like a thief (2 Peter 3:10). But for Christians, Jesus tells us that we should be found ready for his coming.
Matthew 24:44-47
44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
45 "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
We need to be ready always for Jesus’ return because I can tell you this, while we don’t know the day or the hour, we are closer today than we were yesterday and His coming could be at any moment.
With that in mind, we are beginning a new series called “Living with a View to the Future.”
Slide
We are going to be going through the first letter to the Thessalonians and see
how they lived their lives with a view to the future and
how Paul further instructed their young faith to have a correct view of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ which would propel them toward greater living in the present.
Background and establishment of Thessalonian church
But before we jump right into 1 Thessalonians, I think it is important that we understand a little bit of the background of the church and this letter.
Paul started the church in Thessalonica during his second missionary journey that we can read about in the book of Acts (Acts 15:36 – 20:38). We read about his time in Thessalonica in Acts 17:1-9.
Slide
I want to ask you to turn there. We are going to read about the forming of that church and what Paul was teaching them to gain an understanding of what was going on during his time in Thessalonica.
Acts 17:1-9
1 When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ," he said. 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.
5 But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting: "These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, 7 and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus." 8 When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. 9 Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.
Now we are not going to spend a lot of time here, but I want you to notice what Paul begins teaching the Thessalonians right off the bat.
He is preaching that Jesus is the Christ who came into the world with the good news, the gospel.
That is because this good news, this gospel of Jesus’ coming, is essential for us to truly believe if we are going to be able to spend eternity in heaven and not in hell. That is the first and most important thing. But there is another important aspect to believing this as well.
Believing in the First Coming of Jesus Christ with the Gospel is Foundational to Living a Godly Life
Slide
That is because if you do not believe that Jesus came and became a man and died for your sins and rose again, then you are not a Christian. A Christian, by definition is someone who believes the gospel about Jesus Christ and was real.
And if you don’t believe that, you do not have the Holy Spirit of God indwelling you so it is therefore impossible for you to live a godly life because it is only by the power of God’s Spirit in us that can enable us to live the way He wants us to.
So Paul begins preaching about Jesus coming as the Christ and living and dying and rising from the dead because a belief about that is foundational
to inheriting eternal life and
to living a godly life
Transition to future hope
Now as we begin to study the first letter to the Thessalonians over the next couple months, we are going to see that not only is believing in the first coming of Jesus Christ with the gospel essential to our eternity and to us living a godly life, but we will find that
Believing in the second coming of Jesus Christ in Glory is foundational to living a Godly Life
Slide
The entire book of first Thessalonians has as a theme
the return of Christ and how that effects our living here.
Every chapter of first Thessalonians includes an aspect of the second coming of Christ and its effect upon us. (See 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 2:19-20; 3:13; 4:13-18; 5:23-24)
Now Paul was not in Thessalonica very long, but as is apparent from this first letter, he taught about these 2 essential beliefs in his time there because he speaks of them in such a way as if they should know them.
But being that he was not there very long, they do have some confusion in regards to the Lord’s return that Paul hopes to correct and clarify in his letter to them so that they may live a more and more godly life as they live their life with a view to the future.
Now that we have looked at the establishment of the church in Thessalonica, and the importance of these 2 foundational beliefs about Jesus’ first and second coming, we will begin to take a closer look at the letter that Paul writes and take a look at a few things that a belief in the first coming of Jesus with the gospel as well as the second coming of Jesus in glory should lead to in our life.
So, if you would turn in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 1-3
Slide
we are going to take a look at the first 3 verses today and see what these foundational teachings led to in the life of the Thessalonians.
1 Thessalonians 1:1-3
1 Paul, Silas and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace and peace to you.
2 We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. 3 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Pray
Paul begins this letter much as he does his other letters identifying who he is and who is writing with him and indicating who the letter is originally written to and tells them of his continual prayers for them.
Then he goes on to tell them what he is thanking the Father for and Paul mentions 3 things that he thanks God for that are a result of the Thessalonians belief in Jesus Christ in His coming with the gospel and a belief in His coming again in glory.
This foundational teaching and belief has led to, in the lives of the Thessalonians, to
A Faith that Works
Slide
1Thessalonians 1:3a - We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith
“Now wait a minute. Isn’t faith something that is just in your head, something that you believe?”
Yes, having faith is something internal, but real faith never stays internal.
James tells us in James 2:17-18 that “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
Paul writes in Ephesians 2:10, that “ we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
These Thessalonians have a faith that is real and it is causing them to work and live and put forth effort for the kingdom of God.
Work = Occupation
This word that is translated work in this verse can also be translated as occupation.
There is a mindset in the lives of the Thessalonians that serving the Lord in faith is their primary work, it is what they are to do.
How they make money is just something that is able to support them doing ministry work.
This greatly encourages Paul because it shows that they do have an understanding of the vital importance of sharing their faith because if the message of Jesus does not get out and is not believed, then real people will be going to hell.
They understand this and their faith is causing them to work to fulfill the mission of the church in proclaiming
the gospel of Jesus’ first coming and
the hope and glory of His second coming.
This seems so different from the church today where many people think that faith is something that is for Sunday and that we can’t bring our faith outside the church walls or ever have it interfere with our work.
We often view our work as of primary importance and our faith as secondary or even further down the list not only behind work, but behind leisure and enjoyment.
Now, as we will see later in this study, we need to work and we also need to rest and have leisure time, but so often our priorities get a little out of whack.
Survey
We have recently put out a survey at Hickory Creek to gain a perspective of where people believe they are in their faith so we as a church can
improve in ministering to those who are here and
continue to reach out to those in the community.
One of the questions we asked was
How many hours a week do you serve?
64% of the respondents who answered said they serve at least an hour per week on average.
That is great to have nearly 2/3 of our congregation, of those in HS and up, serving in some way at Hickory Creek.
But that also means that 36% of the people are serving 0 hours per week at Hickory Creek.
Now as we start to analyze this data that is coming in, there could be a variety of reasons for someone not serving here.
They could be brand new and have not yet had the opportunity to serve.
It could be that they just don’t know where to serve in which case, at least to me, the leadership and staff bear some responsibility in
not communicating needs or encouraging individuals as well as we should and not being proactive enough in finding a spot for people.
It could also be that there is just not a focus on the importance of some of the individual ministries that we have available. Sometimes we think that an area we have served in or that is available is really not that important to the church or to people coming to faith or growing in their faith.
Highlight Vital Ministries
Today, as we go through this message, I want to highlight a few areas that are absolutely vital to our ability to do ministry and I want to encourage anyone who is not serving in some way, or who has ability to add some ministry into their schedule, to let your faith produce work through you as you keep looking for and being ready for Christ’s return.
Chair stacking and Setup Ministry
One area that is absolutely essential, and requires no special skills except some muscle, is our chair stacking and set up ministry.
This church could not do the ministry it does without this vital ministry.
We could not hold our seminars helping teach people the basics and essentials of the faith,
We could not host AWANA, where kids are learning the word of God and coming into relationship with Christ.
We could not minister through TBD or Impact, our youth groups, where kids can connect and grow in their relationship with God as well as hear the gospel.
None of these ministries would be near as effective, if we could even have them at all, if we did not have volunteers taking time
to tear down and stack the chairs and
to set up the chairs each week so we can minister here on Sunday morning.
Mike LaMonto, our deacon who leads this ministry, knows the value of this ministry. He had shoulder surgery about 7 months ago and is out here every week
stacking chairs after our second service so we can do all of our midweek ministries,
then organizing guys to set them back up on Friday or Saturday
so we can be ready to minister to people on Sunday again.
The Sunday stacking doesn’t take longer than 45 minutes and the Saturday setup usually takes less than an hour as well.
I am sure there are people here today who really have never understood the importance of this ministry, because it seems that we have such a hard time finding some people to help with this ministry.
If we were able to get 12 to 15 guys from High School on up, who could sign up to do a tear down and a set up once per month, that would be about 2 hours per month of work, but would provide essential ministry to the church so lives can continue to be changed and people can be ministered to and grown in their faith.
If you are hearing this and the Spirit is working in you saying you could do this, then Mike is going to be available after the service for you to sign up and give your phone number to put you on a team to help.
Well, having a faith that works is not the only thing that Paul remembers before the Father about the Thessalonians.
Another thing that Paul sees as stemming from
their belief in Jesus Christ’s first coming bringing the gospel and
their belief in and hope for the second coming in Glory, is
… a Love that Labors
Slide
We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love… (1 Thessalonians 1:3b)
What is the difference between work produced by faith and labor prompted by love?
The word translated labor is different from the word translated work in that labor carries the implication of pain or toil, hard work, or sacrifice versus more of an occupational work.
So this second phrase is talking about a laboring or sacrifice that is prompted by that agape love for people who desperately need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ so that they will not be entering an eternity apart from Christ in hell where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Remembering 9/11
This past Friday, we remembered the events of 9/11. I can still remember seeing the men and women who sacrificed days and weeks, spending hour after hour searching for people in the rubble of the World Trade Center. They were looking for people so they would not die.
Temporary Salvation
The sad part about that is that any survivors from the acts of terrorism that occurred that day will one day die physically. The laboring of the volunteers and firefighters would only bring about a temporary salvation for this lifetime.
Eternal Salvation
The labor that is prompted by love when it helps someone to hear the good news about Jesus first coming and can look forward to the hope of His Second coming, saves someone not just for this lifetime, but for an eternity.
These Thessalonians had a correct view that Jesus is going to be coming back and there are people who are dying before He comes back who have not trusted in Him as their Savior. They were willing to labor, to sacrifice out of love, to save those who were perishing.
For us, this is where Satan comes in and seeks to focus on things other than the eternity of those without Christ.
When we lose that focus,
the focus that there are those without Jesus who will be going to hell, and
the focus that Jesus could come back at any moment,
getting the good news about Jesus into the hearts and minds of those who don’t know Him no longer seems that urgent.
And if it is not that urgent, we really aren’t too willing to make sacrifices, to labor, so that others can.
Sure, we may serve in some capacity and give to the offering, but when Satan deceives us and we stop living with a view to the future, our hearts start to grow cold and our love is not prompting any labor, any hard work, that may cause us discomfort, but help someone else come to Christ.
This is why it is so important to be continually reminded and encouraged to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on His sacrifice and on His imminent return, so that we are willing to labor out of our love for those who need to hear the gospel and come to salvation and experience the hope that is available only in Christ.
When we are living with that view to future, sacrifices we make don’t even seem like sacrifices.
Nursery
Every area of ministry is a sacrifice to some and to others it is the only place they would want to serve.
For instance, our Little Sparks Nursery is sometimes a place where people think they are not gifted to serve there. I want to tell you that serving in our nursery doesn’t require a gift, it requires love that labors.
Maybe you are here today and you really aren’t laboring, or sacrificing in any way that you serve. Maybe you could sign up today for helping out 1 service per month in our Little Sparks nursery.
Maybe you are thinking, I don’t want to serve in the nursery, I want to do real ministry.
I want to tell you that our nursery servants are doing real ministry.
It is where kids first begin to see the love of the Lord in action through his servants.
It is through this ministry that parents are able to hear and keep their full attention on the message of God’s word knowing that their kids are being cared for and are safe.
The Little Sparks nursery is real ministry and it is definitely a labor of love.
Are we willing to sacrifice an hour a month to do this labor of love?
We need about 4 or 5 more adults to serve in our nursery so that each person would be serving during 1 service every 4 weeks. You would still be able to attend service during that week you serve by going to the opposite service.
To be at church for 3 hours on one Sunday a month where you labored one service and were part of the worship service for the other, would that be too much to sacrifice so that we can provide more opportunities for those who don’t know Jesus to hear about Him before He comes back or before that person dies and enters a Christless eternity?
The idea of what is really sacrifice changes when we have an eye toward the future and Christ’s return and the eternity of those without Him.
That is why we need to regularly be reminded, all of us, me included, because we are all subject to taking our eyes off of Christ and His return.
Oh, that we would be a church that continually encourages one another to keep focused so that we can not only have a faith that works, and a love that labors, but also
A Hope that Endures
Slide
We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 1:3c)
Each one of us needs a hope that endures because living a godly, Christian life is going to be challenging at times.
And we are going to be wrestling through those times when we are working and laboring and Satan comes and says “why are you working so hard, Jesus isn’t coming back. He hasn’t come back yet, why do you think He is going to?”
Peter warned that this would happen.
2 Peter 3:3-4, 8-9
3First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4They will say, "Where is this ’coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation" …8But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
We need to realize that the fact that Christ has not returned yet is enabling us with more time to work and labor so others can hear about Him and trust in Him because God does not want anyone to perish.
Realize also that as we serve and sacrifice and people enter into a relationship with the Lord due to the ministry we have done as a church, we will have great joy and glory with the Lord at his return over those who have been saved through that ministry.
Paul, in
1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 - For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? 20 Indeed, you are our glory and joy.
Paul, in keeping his focus on Christ’s return, is sharing the gospel and teaching and ministering, and knows that the work and labor will lead to great joy when his hope of Jesus’ coming is fulfilled.
Keep your eyes upon Him. Let your hope endure as you wait for his coming, because he is coming again.
When Satan comes and points out someone who is not serving and says, “Look at them. They aren’t doing anything, why should you work so hard?” you need to keep your eyes on Jesus and His return and let your hope endure.
If I have a hope that keeps looking to Jesus’ return knowing that He is coming and He has His reward with Him, I am strengthened to continue on because I want to be found faithful when he comes.
I want to have served well and with a good attitude and I want to hear my Lord say to me on that day “Well done good and faithful servant.”
That is what keeps me going when ministry and life and people beat me down.
My Lord is coming back and I have a hope that is enduring because he has come once and He has promised to come back.
Jesus said in John 14:3 – “if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
Conclusion
Jesus came and He has coming back. He came and lived and died and rose again, that is the gospel which we must believe to have eternal life and to build a godly life.
He is coming back in glory and we must believe that and look for that if we are going to be able to persevere in living that godly life.
Perhaps as you have heard this message, you have recognized that you have never completely understood what it means to be a Christian, you have never reallyyou’re your trust and belief in Jesus Christ, recognizing that God the Son came in the flesh and lived and died for your sins and rose again from the dead so that you might have eternal life. The Bible tells us that we should confess that belief with our mouth
Romans 10:9 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
I am going to give you an opportunity to do that today, so you can be building a godly life on the foundation of Jesus Christ and His gospel and you can live that godly life as you look for his second coming.
Maybe you have trusted in Jesus but you have not been keeping your focus on His coming and it has affected your living for Him, then I want to encourage you to
lift your head,
keep your eyes upon Him who is coming back and
let your faith work,
let your love labor and
let your hope endure.
I want to close with a section of Paul’s letter to Timothy in which he encourages Timothy in his specific ministry, but could be applied to each one of us in our own ministry.
Paul says in 2 Tim 3:12 and following that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of…
2 Timothy 4:1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. … keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
Paul is basically saying, “In view of his appearing and kingdom, work and labor in your ministry as you continue in the hope of Jesus’ return.” And then he continues
6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
I pray that you are longing for His appearing and that it remains a focus for you as you work and labor in the kingdom. If we are going to live godly and fulfilled lives here, then we have got to live with a view to the future with Christ’s return.
We are going to close with a song this morning called “Be the Center”
Perhaps you need to make Jesus the center for the first time in your life.
Maybe you have trusted in Jesus and you need to re-center your life around Him and take steps to work, or labor , or even endure.
As we sing this song, I am going to do something I don’t normally do.
I am going to invite you up to the altar to pray and take a physical action along with the mental decision that the Lord is prompting you to make today.
If you need to confess your belief in Jesus for the first time, do that
If you need to ask the Lord for help in keeping your hope in Him do that
If you want to talk with someone or have someone pray with you, we will have people available on both ends to pray with you.
But let us all let Jesus be the center as we sing.
