“WE ALWAYS THANK GOD…” (Outline)
October 31, 2010 -
Reformation -
1 THESSALONIANS 1:1-5a
INTRO: “Always” is one of God’s strong words of encouragement. Two weeks ago God reminded us to “rejoice always”. Only with the strength God provides is, can, or will this be possible. Thus today the words of our text encourage us to “always thank God”. Growing in our Christian faith we begin to understand the depth of the meaning of God’s word. By hearing God’s word we grow in our Christian faith. For this reason we gather each week around the foot of our Savior’s cross. "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked" (PSALM 84:10).
Today and every day “WE ALWAYS THANK GOD…”
I. For every faithful believer. II. For God’s powerful word.
I. WE ALWAYS THANK GOD FOR EVERY FAITHFUL BELIEVER.
A. We have before us the inspired word of God given through Paul to believers in Thessalonica.
1. Verse 1a,b. Paul has traveling companions with him, Silas and Timothy.
2. These three send warm greetings and God’s blessings to the family of believers.
B. Verse 1c. Grace is God’s undeserved love. Peace, which only God gives, is forgiveness.
1. Paul reminds these believers of the depth of God’s blessings that they possess: grace, peace.
2. Verse 2. Paul is thankful for every believer. Paul’s thankfulness leads him to pray for them.
C. Verse 3. Paul is always thankful for these believers. Paul always prays for them. Paul explains why.
1. These believers have shown their faith by their actions, “work produced by faith”.
2. These believers were motivated by their love for God, “labor prompted by love”.
3. These believers had an abiding hope for an eternal future, “hope in our Lord Jesus Christ”.
4. Paul was always thankful for every faithful believer as they lived such faithful lives.
D. Sunday after Sunday, week after week, for generation after generation we have been greatly blessed and privileged to gather together in God’s house of worship. Today we worship in a very beautiful building. It was built by faithful believers to be enjoyed by generations to follow. You and I enjoy the fruits of their “work produced by faith” and “labor prompted by love”. But you and I know that there is more to faith than a nice place of worship. The holy Christian church is made up of much more than brick and mortar. "You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 PETER 2:5). We always thank God for every faithful believer who has Jesus Christ as their cornerstone (prophets, apostles as a foundation).
E. First and foremost in our worship we have ample opportunity to listen to God’s powerful word. Our service is centered on that word of God. The hymns are scriptural and doctrinally sound. Each week the scripture lessons bring us God’s truth. The Sunday sermon centers on the Savior, Christ the Lord. Faith comes by hearing. The message we hear is the word of God. But there is even more to be thankful for in our Christian worship. "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (HEBREWS 10:25). We gather together to hear and be encouraged in our Christian faith. We then also encourage one another.
F. Paul blessed these believers with God’s grace and peace. We have heard these precious, divine words hundreds and possibly thousands of times. They have great meaning for us in our lives in this unsettling world of ours. On this side of heaven there is no peace as the world understands that word. On this side of heaven only God gives us his peace. We have peace through our Savior, Jesus Christ. "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (JOHN 14:27). God’s peace is forgiveness. Our souls are at peace with God!
“WE ALWAYS THANK GOD” for every faithful believer. By faith believers mutually encourage others.
II. WE ALWAYS THANK GOD FOR GOD’ S POWERFUL WORD.
A. A miraculous change took place in the lives of all these believers. God saved them by grace.
1. We want to remember that this is the first generation after Christ’s life, death, resurrection.
2. Paul, once a persecutor, now proclaims that the Messiah lived, died, and rose again.
3. This seemed a strange message. Yet, people believed. God’s powerful word changed hearts.
B. Verse 3. Faith clearly showed itself by living their Christian virtues of love and hope.
C. Verse 4. God found these believers. God chose these believers to be his own. Saved by grace alone.
1. Verse 5. God’s gospel saved these believers. Paul was not a persuasive preacher.
2. It was not Paul who saved. God’s word came with “power,” “Holy Spirit”, and “conviction”!
D. Yes, there is every reason to be thankful always. God’s gospel still survives. The Lord Jesus himself has assured believers that even the gates of hell shall never, ever overcome the church built upon the word of God. There are many visible Christian churches in our country. Over the years some of the teachings and preaching has dramatically changed. Some feel God’s word has to be adjusted or tweaked to make it sound more pleasing. Others add their own opinion or interpretation to the simple, saving message of God’s gospel. God’s gospel is to be proclaimed as it is. The word of God needs no adornment. "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile" (ROMANS 1:16). God’s gospel is the power to change everyone forever.
E. There are times in our lives that we face heartache, sorrow, temptations or other earthly difficulties. We may not always feel the urge to be thankful at such times. God’s word is clear: “always thank God”. How can we always be thankful? God describes the armor that a Christian possesses because the word of God dwells in the believers’ heart. "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (EPHESIANS 6:16,17). God’s powerful word is called “the sword of the Spirit”. This “sword” does indeed always defeat every “flaming arrow of the evil one”! By the power of the word of God we are able to always thank God for such a powerful weapon against Satan.
F. Believers we are quickly approaching the Last Day when the Lord Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead. This means challenges for the Christian church. The Lord has told us that the love of most will grow cold. The Christian will face persecution. Evil and wickedness will abound. It will almost seem as if God’s word is hard to find. Take heart. Our loving Lord and gracious God has promised that wherever two or three gather together in his name there he is with them (this is opposite of today’s “mega church” mentality). "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever" (ISAIAH 40:8). Always thank God for his powerful word as seen even among the smallest gatherings.
CONC: On our own or by our own strength it is impossible to always thank God. Only by God’s grace are we able to thank God. It is God’s powerful word that brings us into God’s kingdom. "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness" (COLOSSIANS 2:6,7). “ALWAYS THANK GOD…” Be thankful for every faithful believer. Be thankful for God’s powerful word. God’ word has made all the difference in our lives and in the world—forever. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
REFORMATION rdgs:
JEREMIAH 31:31-34;
ROMANS 3:19-28;
JOHN 8:31-36;
(PSALM 46)
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9:30am @ Redeemer (Sun) / 7:00pm @ Hays (Sun)
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