LABOR OF LOVE
INTRODUCTION
READ 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3…
2 We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We 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.
Today, we’re going to take a look at this “labor of love” found in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. The early church set the example… We’re going to see what we can learn from their example… Let’s jump in…
READ 1 Thessalonians 1:6-9…
6 So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. 7 As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece—throughout both Macedonia and Achaia. 8 And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it, 9 for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God.
We’re going to focus on 4 things from this passage this morning… 4 things that are important ingredients in order to have a healthy church…
1. THEY RECEIVED GOD’S WORD (1:6)
First, they received God’s word… READ 1 Thessalonians 1:6…
6 So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord.
The Apostle Paul was a missionary who started the church in Thessalonica… We can read about how that church was started by reading Acts 17:1-4…
1 When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah, ”he said. 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.
The first ingredient in a healthy church is that you have believers in Jesus Christ… “Church” is not just a place where we go and worship together… “Church” is a gathering of believers… WE are the “church”… the church is people… people who belong to Jesus… people who gather together to worship God… To have a healthy church, you must start by having believers in Jesus Christ.
If there is anyone here who has not placed their faith in Jesus Christ… then you are still dead in your sins… You may be “going to church”, but that doesn’t make you a Christian… I can go to a basketball game, but that doesn’t make me one of the players… Be part of the team… Place your faith in Jesus Christ… He will set you free and give you a new life… This is what God’s word promises us… Receive God’s word… Be the church.
2. THEY TURNED AWAY FROM IDOLS (1:9)
Second, they turned away from idols… READ 1 Thessalonians 1:9…
9 for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God.
They received God’s word… They put their faith in Jesus Christ… Then they also turned away from idols… They gave up their old gods… They surrendered their lives to Jesus… They became followers of Jesus… Jesus became their “Lord” in addition to being their “Savior”… Jesus is both Lord and Savior… You can’t choose one without the other… You can’t simply choose to be saved, and then refuse to surrender control of your life to Jesus as your Lord… When you place your faith in Jesus for salvation, you also surrender your life to Him as your Lord… If Jesus is not your Lord, then you will never be a healthy church… They turned away from idols…
3. THEY SERVED THE LIVING AND TRUE GOD (1:9)
But continue reading the end of that verse… READ 1 Thessalonians 1:9…
9 for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God.
This is our 3rd ingredient for a healthy church… They served the living and true God… You can receive God’s word and be saved… You can turn away from idols and have Jesus as your Lord… But you must also serve God and live your life in a way that pleases Him.
The word “serving” implies you are doing something… You are taking action… James 2 has much to say about this… but let’s just look at 2 verses from James chapter 2…
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? [...]
26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Going to church is a good thing… But it can’t be the only thing… You must serve your Lord and Savior wherever you are… all through the week… not just on certain days like Sunday.
There are so many verses in the Bible that talk about serving God… This is a very important ingredient to being a healthy church… When believers in Jesus Christ start living out their faith… out in the world… outside the walls of a building where we gather together each week to worship… That’s when we start to truly become the church… That’s when others will see what it looks like to follow Jesus…
Matthew 5:16…
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
“Let your light shine”… The world is trapped in darkness… in sin… without God… Live your life wherever you go in such a way that you bring God’s light to them… If you keep your light hidden because you’re afraid of what people will think… or what they will say… or what they might do… Then you are keeping them in darkness… Let your light shine… Serve God wherever you go…
John 12:26…
26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
1 Peter 4:10…
10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
Serving God takes effort… It takes time… It takes energy… You must be intentional / purposeful about serving God… You serve God by actively participating in the church… You serve God by serving others… By looking for needs and then finding ways to fill those needs… By finding those who are hurting and then ministering to them in some way that shares the love of Christ with them…
Matthew 25:34-40…
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
You can do this while you’re at school… You can do this while you are out shopping… You can do this while you are riding the bus or the train… There are needs and hurting people all around us every day wherever we are… The question is whether you are willing to look for those opportunities to be a minister of God’s love or not… A healthy church is full of people who serve the living and true God…
4. THEY SHARED THEIR FAITH (1:8)
Which brings us to our 4th and final ingredient for a healthy church… They shared their faith…
READ 1 Thessalonians 1:8…
8 And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it
The people actively shared their faith… They shared the good news of Jesus Christ wherever they went… They had received God’s word… and it changed their lives… set them free… and they were faithful to share that same good news with anyone who would listen… As they served God through serving others, they also shared their faith… A healthy church must be full of people who are not ashamed or afraid to share their faith with other people…
Romans 1:16…
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
Matthew 10:32-33…
32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
A common excuse is that you may not know how to share your faith… or maybe you don’t think you know enough about the Bible to share Christ with someone else… You can always share your personal experience… Your personal testimony of what Jesus has done in your life… How you were lost in sin and how He set you free… You can also use resources like this one… [show gospel tract]
Don’t use excuses to justify why you are not sharing your faith… Make a decision that you will share your faith and then find a way to make it happen… Be bold… Be courageous! A healthy follower of Jesus Christ shares their faith…
[show video of basketball huddle]… Meeting together as a church each week is like that huddle… We get together and talk about what needs to be done… We get encouragement… We get motivated… We get advice and support… We get information about the tactics of the opposing team so we can figure out how to overcome them and win… But we can’t remain in the huddle the whole time… Who would want to be part of a sport where all you do is huddle the whole time? You have to break the huddle and get on the court and play! We can just go to church and think that’s good enough… Church is the huddle… When we leave here, that’s when the action starts… The game isn’t won here in the huddle… It’s won out there on the court…
CONCLUSION
Today, you’re the team, I’m the coach, and we’re in the huddle…
I want you to get out there and win! It’s going to be hard… You have all the world coming against you… But I know you can do it! Everyone is watching and waiting to see what you’re going to do… Let’s be the church… Let’s be the example for other believers to follow… So let’s come out of this huddle, and give them everything we have in us… Let’s do our part to change our community… To change this country… To change with world… The world needs to hear about Jesus Christ, and it’s our job to make sure it happens!
Let’s PRAY…
