Your Work In Faith

Your Work in Faith

Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of our God and Father. - 1 Thessalonians 1:3

There’s a wonderful story about a little girl named Mary who survived a hurricane in October 1991. A small boat carrying a man named John, and Mary, his six-year-old daughter, were caught in the storm. John had not checked the weather report, when he and Mary sailed off the Jersey shore. Six miles out, he was shocked at how fast the winds changed. Soon the boat capsized, overturned, and they were in the water. While the boat was being swept out to sea.

John realized there was no way he could swim the six miles back to shore while holding his little girl. To save them, he would have to swim alone. “Mary, you can float on your back as long as you want,” he told her. “Float on your back, Mary. I’ll swim to shore, and I will be back for you.”

Three hours later the Coast Guard found John. For the next hour and a half as darkness came on, they looked for the little girl, miraculously, the spotlight found her. She had been floating for nearly five hours.

The guardsmen later asked her, “Mary, how did you do that?” She said, “Well, my daddy said I could float on my back as long as I wanted to, and that he would come back for me. My daddy always does what he says.” Mary kept floating and kept trusting her father regardless of what waves were around her.

The Apostle Paul had seen the same kind of faith in the church at Thessalonica. The church at Thessalonica became one of Paul’s success stories due to the faithfulness of the converts there. So Paul begins his letter to the church with high praise for the Thessalonians. He says he “always thanks God” for them. Paul praised them for their “work produced by faith,” their “labor prompted by love,” and their “endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” That’s a good formula for our christian faithful life. Amen. Let’s begin by considering their “work produced by faith.”

I. Work Produced by Faith:

Here, Paul remembers the Thessalonica church believers' work of faith. Today, Thessalonica is the second-largest city in Greece and is the capital of Macedonia, the nation’s largest region. But even in Paul’s time, it was a prominent and prosperous city. It had two synagogues and many Roman temples. Idol worship was strong there, and it was not an easy place to plant a church.

However, Thessalonica played a significant role in Paul’s ministry. He and Silas worked hard and established a Christian community there. There was a large Jewish presence in Thessalonica, which gave them an opportunity for converts, but also caused them problems with the authorities. The leaders of the synagogues said, “These men . . . have turned the world upside down . . .” because, according to the leaders of the synagogue, they were “saying that there is another king, Jesus” (Acts 17:6-7). This was rebellion and treason, of course, to say that there was another king besides Caesar.

Obviously, their faith in Christ was critical. Little Mary was able to keep floating because she knew her daddy would come back for her. Like that, the Thessalonians were strong in their faith that Christ would not forget his own people. This is essential in any setting where we are trying to maintain our faith in the midst of a hostile pagan environment or when we are trying to carry on in the midst of a deep personal crisis. After all, we all have our storms to face.

Effective work of Faith:

The word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. - 1 Thessalonians 2:13

The church of the Thessalonians believed that the word of God did not come from men but from God and heaven. Jesus said in John 6:29, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” Jesus again said to them I say to you Moses did not give you the bread from heaven but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Believing the Word of God and applying the Word of God by effectively working in you will set you free.

How many times have you heard someone who has come through a time of crisis say, “I couldn’t have made it without my faith.” We are no different from the members of the church at Thessalonica. They had their challenges; we have ours. The key to being victorious, regardless of the situation, is to trust Christ.