Sermon for 1/4/2003
1 Thessalonians 1:1-4
Introduction:
In 1972, a group of international industrial leaders and thinkers, called the Club of Rome, suggested six proposals that humanity must put into effect if we are to survive on this planet. I will only share the first, very significant proposal, with you: "The survival of this planet necessitates new forms of thinking that will lead to a fundamental revision of human behavior, and, by implication, of the entire fabric of present-day society." That simply says that if we cannot discover how to change people, there is no hope for saving the world from ultimate collapse. In the immortal words of Pogo, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." There is no way out unless society can find a means of fundamentally changing human beings.
WBTU:
A. Last week we talked about our mission statement: To share our lives with the gospel to saints and sinners.
B. This is based on 1 Thessalonians 2:8 and everything we do needs to focus on this. How is this going to help us in our mission? How is this going to help us share our lives with the gospel?
C. Going to start a series on 1 Thessalonians.
1. Vs. 1
a. Paul was the missionary to the Gentiles. Thessalonica was one of 4 capital cities in Macedonia.
b. Silas, Paul’s partner in planting churches, since Barnabas and Paul split up.
c. Timothy, a young evangelist whom they had recruited earlier in this journey.
d. Paul, Silas and Timothy spent at most 3 months in this city until they were forced out. Talk about this more when we get to chapter 2.
e. While they were ministering in Corinth further south, Paul sends Timothy back to encourage and strengthen the Christians in Thessalonica. Timothy has just returned and he gives his report to Paul. Inspired and concerned about things at this church, Paul writes his first letter contained in the New Testament to the Christians there.
f. Paul is the main speaker but he has input from Timothy and Silas.
2. Vs. 2
a. Paul, as all Christians should, had a daily prayer time.
b. Our prayers should not be a list of needs but should contain more praises and thanksgiving.
c. Instead of critizing our brothers and sisters in Christ, Paul thanked God for them.
d. I thank God even for Christians who have caused me grief. Two reasons: They have helped me grow in my faith and trust. They have helped me to see how not to live the Christian life.
e. However, his relationship with the Christian in Thessalonica is not one of grief as we see in vs. 3.
3. Vs. 4
a. We come to this term “Election” or NIV God has chosen you. Two extremes to be avoided:
1. God has chosen me; I had no say in it. Before I was formed, God determined whether I was saved or whether I was condemned. God doesn’t make junk. Tell the story of the first funeral I preached. We do play a part.
2. However, we also should not fall into the trap that we saved ourselves. Heaven forbid! Come on up here and save yourself. God does play a big part. We play a little part but God is the one who saves us.
b. Salvation begins with God. The entire plan of salvation was born in the heart of God long before man was created or the universe formed.
c. Salvation involves God’s grace. God’s love saves us. Not completely true. God’s love made Calvary possible, and there Jesus Christ died for my sins. But it is not God’s love that saves the sinner; it is God’s grace. God in his grace gives us what we do not deserve, and God in His mercy does not give us what we do deserve. This explains why Paul opens his letters this way. IT begins with God’s grace and when we have God’s grace we have God’s peace.
d. Salvation involves faith. Without faith on each individual’s part, salvation is not given. Paul, Silas and Timothy brought the Gospel to Thessalonica and preached in the power of God. Some people heard the message and believed. They turned from their idols to the true and living God. We are saved by grace through faith.
e. Salvation involves the Godhead. Got this from Warren Wiersbe. The trinity or the Godhead is the belief in one God existing in three Persons. All three persons are involved in our salvation. This will help us to avoid the extremes:
1. As far as God the Father is concerned, we were saved when He chose us in Christ before the world began.
2. As far as God the Son is concerned, we were saved when He died for us on the cross.
3. As far as God the Holy Spirit is concerned, we were saved when we were obedient to the Gospel. The Holy Spirit used the Word to work on us, and we responded by confession, repentance, and baptism. Goes along with the words of Christ about the Holy Spirit: (John 16:8 NIV) When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment. At that moment, the entire plan fell together and we became children of God.
4. This helps to explain the doctrine of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. (Mat 12:31 NIV) And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
D. How do I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am saved? Well, first of all, did you respond to the Gospel? The plan of salvation.
E. Is there a change in your life? Before and after. (2 Cor 5:17 NIV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Thesis: This morning we are going to look at three of those changes: Work of faith, labor of love, and patience in hope.
For instances:
1. Work of faith
A. Faith, hope and love are mentioned in another book, (1 Cor 13:13 NIV) And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Paul’s purpose is different.
B. The basis of everything is trust. I trust my wife. I trust my car. I trust the bridge. I trust in a certain weight loss program.
C. I don’t have any trust in this person. I don’t trust that car. I don’t trust that condemned building. I don’t trust in that weight loss program.
D. Faith is simply trust. We have taken a word like faith and made it into a difficult concept that often glides over people’s minds without leaving a dent at all.
E. To make it simple when it comes to faith we either trust in ourselves or we trust in Jesus Christ. I have seen myself in action without Jesus Christ and I no longer trust myself. I am so inconsistent. One moment I am doing something very good and the next I am doing something very evil.
F. To have faith in Jesus Christ we must distrust ourselves and then trust in Jesus Christ alone to guide our lives. WE must empty ourselves before we can open our hearts to be filled with Jesus.
G. The beginning of faith is when we realize that we cannot trust ourselves but we can trust in Christ.
H. Faith is the hand that grasps onto Jesus Christ.
I. Our works do not lay hold of Christ, only our faith does. To trust in our works is to only have faith in ourselves and this is not saving faith.
J. On the other hand, does our faith work? If Christ is living within us through faith, then we will work. We are not saved by faith plus works, but by a faith that works.
K. If we want to keep our faith sound and useful, allow Christ to work through you.
L. (James 2:14 NIV) What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?(James 2:15 NIV) Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.(James 2:16 NIV) If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?(James 2:17 NIV) In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.(James 2:18 NIV) 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.(James 2:19 NIV) You believe that there is one God. Good! (85% of Americans believe this) Even the demons believe that--and shudder.
M. (James 2:26 NIV) As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
N. Your work will be energized by faith (Amplified)
2. Labor of love
A. Love is not some feeling. True (Sacrificial) Love is evident by actions.
B. God loved us so he did something through Jesus Christ, His Son.
C. (John 14:15 NIV) "If you love me, you will obey what I command.
D. Now I will make an effort to love. I will stir up my affections and then I will love. No, the very essence of love is the Gospel. We cannot love apart from this. We need to take into our hearts and minds the Gospel and this will cause us to love.
E. Love delights to have a hard task given to it by the beloved, and the harder the task the greater the satisfaction.
F. Our motivation for hard labor is to please Jesus Christ. If we have low motivation, then we need to turn our eyes upon Jesus.
3. Patience of hope
A. The return of Jesus Christ is a major theme in 1 Thessalonians.
B. Unsaved people are not eagerly awaiting the Lord’s return.
C. Saved people are longing for the Lord’s return and this helps them to go on in the midst of suffering and trials.
D. Hope is faith directed to the future. We need to think more about heaven. If we think more about the end this will cause us to examine our lives and it will give us strength. So that when Jesus Christ comes again he will say, “Well done…”
E. When things are going poorly, it is a pleasure to think of the Lord’s return. When things are going well, it is not such a glory to think of the Lord coming back. One time I was teaching a class and I asked how many of them longed for the Lord’s return. One young man said that he wasn’t because he was getting married in a few weeks.
F. Two sides to this:
1. There is a passive endurance.
2. There is also an active perseverance. Seek out more ways to share our lives with the gospel! If we have love, we will seek out more ways. If we have faith, we will seek out more ways.
G. Some say that it is selfish for us to think about such things. If this is selfishness, may God grant that we will become more selfish in this area.
H. If we lose sight of our reward, the faith and love, the work and labor, and the patience will suffer.
Conclusion:
A. One problem today is the presence, in the church family, of unbelievers whose names may be on the church roll, but not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
B. We need to examine ourselves.
