Above and Beyond 1

Above & Beyond I – Basic Foundations of Christian Living (nv 8/6/06am)

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

OS: 1 (at the moment I begin – two actors come in the side door carrying on a conversation that I ignore and attempt to continue thus forcing everyone to deal individually with the distraction.) Do you have a cellular phone? If you do, your chances of being in an auto accident are 35% higher than non-phone-totting Americans. This discovery by the Rochester Institute of Technology is not surprising. When you talk on a phone while driving, your attention is distracted.

Do you get a picture of what distraction will do? – What percentage did I just mention?.... (Multitasking – clipboard story from jr. high shop class)

I.       We all have to deal with distractions in life?

A.     God is said to speak to men in "a still, small voice" (1 Kings 19:12), which may partially explain why we find it hard to hear him when he speaks.

                       1.       We have distractions from the outside that we sometimes have little or no control over, but many of our distractions come from our own desires and decisions.

                       2.       Plug fall retreats – women’s, men’s, and youth. (Camp is a wonderful spiritually growing experience because you go away for a week and remove distractions)

II.    Series on the letters Paul wrote to the new Christians in Thessalonica. (early – less than 25 years following Pentecost.)

A.     Acts 17 records the missionary work of Paul, Silas, and Timothy.

                       1.       3 weeks? Probably more (3 in the synagogue)

                       2.       Mob at Jason’s house – Paul and his fellow missionaries are carried away at night. (imagine all that Paul had yet to teach these people)

B.     Persecution and distractions were great.

                       1.       2 1 Thessalonians 3:3-5, (we sent Timothy..) so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know. For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.

                       2.       The political, social, and even recreational framework of 1st Century culture was religious in nature.

                       3.       Separation of Church and State – American Worldview

                       4.       Israel – Their political and social system was their religion.

                       5.       When a pagan became a Christian in the first century they paid a price in every facet of life.

C.     Distraction without…

                       1.       email, instant messaging, cell phones, beepers, blackberry’s, home phones,

                       2.       If don’t have time to spend with God you can identify with these early Christians.

III.  3 ETS] Paul reminds and assures these new Christians that to live above and beyond the distractions and desires of the world is God’s design for living.

A.     ESS] Within this text we discover the basic foundations of Christian living as God intended living to be. It is life above and beyond the distractions and desires of this world.

B.     Text: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-11

                       1.       4 1:1-3 {notice Faith, Love, and Hope – these are three foundational elements of living the Christian life. All are based on Jesus, and produce action}

                       2.       5 6 As we read 1:4-10 love for expressions of their works of faith, labor of love, and perseverance of hope.

Prop: Against all odds, great distractions these Christians persevered - We too are faced with daily distractions that threaten to get us side tracked from Jesus’ way of living.  - In order to live above and beyond the distractions of this world we must…

I.       7 Strengthen our faith in Jesus’ provisions. I’m going to take the time to remember and rehearse all the ways God has provided in the past.

A.     Many of our distractions fit into the category of the material.

                       1.       For some reason our relationship with Christ is not close enough to provide the peace we need to face the every day problems of life.

                       2.       According to the American Institute of Stress [I’ll bet that’s a fun place to work], 43 percent of Americans suffer from stress-related health problems. (Source: Referenced in Fast Company, May 2000, "Cease and De-Stress", http://www.fastcompany.com/feature/stress.html)   

                       3.       An average person’s anxiety is focused on:
40% -- things that will never happen
30% -- things about the past that can’t be changed
12% -- things about criticism by others, mostly untrue
10% -- about health, which gets worse with stress
8% -- about real problems that will be faced.

                       4.       If we allow the distractions of life to remove us from that time with the Father our faith grows weaker and weaker, our anxiety gets greater and greater, and its like a snowball rolling down hill.

B.     Paul is reminding these brethren of the evidence that proves God’s presence.

                       1.       In spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with joy. God is living and active.

C.     We must constantly remember what God has brought us through

                       1.       Throughout scripture the acts of God among His people are retold over and over and over. - Builds faith.

                       2.       Only if you don’t become so distracted with life that you forget to rehearse those past faith building moments in your life.

TS] In order to live above and beyond the distractions of this world we must strengthen our faith in Jesus’ provision…

II.    8 Strengthen our love for God and Others. I’m going to value my relationship with God and others more than material things.

A.     The term used for “labor” is a term that pictures hard sweaty work of a laborer.

                       1.       To love is not for the weak.

                       2.       Later in the letter Paul builds on his mention of them being a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia speaking of their expressions of love.

B.     Again, as with faith, love is a foundational principle that will allow us to live above and beyond this world.

                       1.       Greatest commandment – Love God – Love Others.

C.     Most of our distractions in life revolve around ‘things’.

                       1.       People, family, relationships, hope for eternity are the essence of life.

                       2.       Helen Adams Keller who had no eyes to see these earthly things of life states, “It gives me a deep, comforting sense that "things seen are temporal and things unseen are eternal."

                       3.       A minister was speaking about all the things money can’t buy. “Money can’t buy happiness, it can’t buy laughter and money can’t buy love” he told the congregation. Driving his point home he said, “What would you do if I offered you $1,000 not to love your mother and father?” A hush fell over the congregation. Finally a small voice near the front, raised an important question, “How much would you give me not to love my big sister?”   

TS] In order to live above and beyond the distractions of this world we must strengthen our faith in Jesus’ provision, strengthen our love for God and others…

III.  9 Strengthen our hope in the coming of Jesus. I’m going to look to the heavens every day and imagine with joy the coming of Jesus.

A.     Every chapter of this letter mentions the second coming of Jesus.

                       1.       These early Christians are waiting for Jesus to come from heaven.

                       2.       These Christians believed it so much that some of them quit working.

B.     When you consider each day that Jesus might come back today you see life much differently.

                       1.       A young woman was expecting a date. She was dressed up and waiting patiently. However, by the time he was an hour late she figured she’d been stood up. So, she took off her makeup, put on her pajamas, gathered all the junk food in the house and sat down to watch TV with the dog. As her favorite show was just coming on, the doorbell rang. It was her date. He stared at her wide-eyed: “I’m two hours late, and you’re still not ready?”   

                       2.       Let us stay ready! And we will see life differently and we will live above and beyond the distractions of this world.

                       3.       A Preacher of old said, “To me the second coming is the perpetual light in the path which makes the present bearable. I never lay my head on my pillow without thinking that: maybe before the morning breaks the final morning may have dawned. I never begin my work without thinking perhaps he may interrupt my work and begin his own.”   

                       4.       That is living above and beyond all that this world has to offer.

IV. 10 Results – Our light will shine, we will be salt, and the lives of others will be encouraged to live above and beyond.

V. Results – Joy (unexplainable)

I want us all to take the time to remember what God has done, consider our relationship with God and others as most important, and look up each day and be reminded that He is coming back.

I believe we will then be able to live above and beyond the distractions of this world.

If Jesus were to come back right now, are you sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that you’d go home with Him to live for eternity?