10-22-23 Sermon "Faith, Love, and Hope" - 16 Minutes

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

This morning I'll be reading 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verses 1 through 10. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 This letter to the Thessalonians,,, written by Paul,,, was written to give encouragement to the people in spite of their persecution,,, and,,, to answer questions that they had possibly sent to him by Timothy.

1 Thessalonians 1:1–10 (HCSB) — 1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy: To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace. 2 We always thank God for all of you, remembering you constantly in our prayers. 3 We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work of faith, labor of love, and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 knowing your election, brothers loved by God. 5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with much assurance. You know what kind of men we were among you for your benefit, 6 and you became imitators of us and of the Lord when, in spite of severe persecution, you welcomed the message with joy from the Holy Spirit. 7 As a result, you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For the Lord’s message rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith in God has gone out. Therefore, we don’t need to say anything, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead —Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday we looked at Philippians 4:1-9,,, and we seen that Paul was trying to get everyone to work together.

And that's very important for any church today.

And,,, it will be easier to achieve anything,,, if we learn from his words to the Philippians.

Because it's always easier to sidestep satan's plans when we work together.

Along with these scriptures and the article showing that Euodia and Syntyche,,, are being encouraged by Paul to work together,,, which is opposite of the way that we usually interpret these women,,, all of this information encouraged me as we came together in prayer for Bryce,,, the attack on innocent people in Israel,,, and prayers for many others in our community.

Because I feel like God is leading us to work together through our faith in prayer,,, to show the world that we truly care!

I told you what a wonderful opportunity to show support for those in our community,,, and the world,,, as we come together for the common goal of prayer!

This is what we need more of,,, all Christians,,, with a focus together,,, of uniting in prayer,,, lifting someone in need to God through that prayer,,, without thought of denomination,,, or even,,, church name!

We should be doing the job that God has for us by working together to spread the message of God's kingdom.

And just like Paul states in these verses,,, when we focus on Christ,,, instead of our problems,,, when we work together,,, united as Christians,,, that's when we truly receive the peace that we need,,, to get us through,,, each and every day!

Because only then,,, will you ever understand,,, that the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

This morning we will look at these verses in 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10,,, and see how they will help us in our walk with God this week.

___________________________________ Verses 1-2 said: 1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy: To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace. 2 We always thank God for all of you, remembering you constantly in our prayers.

Paul,,, had Silvanus and Timothy traveling with him at the time,,, so he included their names.

Silvanus is probably the same person called Silas who sang with Paul in the prison at Philippi in Acts 16:25.

Timothy is the young brother from Lystra who had joined Paul just before the trip to Thessalonica (Acts 16:1).

The letter was written to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

My commentary said,,, the word we translate as church was used at that time to describe any kind of an assembly,,, so Paul wants to make it clear that this is not a heathen assembly,,, but one that is related to God as Father and to Jesus Christ as Lord.

The greeting grace … and peace embraces the best blessings that anyone could enjoy this side of heaven.

Grace is God’s undeserved favor in every aspect of our lives.

Peace is the unruffled quietness which defies the crashing,,, crushing circumstances of life,,, that seems to always affect us today.

Whenever Paul prayed he mentioned the Thessalonians.

And it was always with thanks that he prayed for them,,, and remembered them.

We understand why from the next verses.

___________________________________ Verses 3-4 said: 3 We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work of faith, labor of love, and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 knowing your election, brothers loved by God.

Paul commended the Thessalonians for their work of faith, labor of love, and endurance of hope.

He later singled out these three virtues as having special prominence for the Christian community,,, as you see in 1 Corinthians 13:13 that says: “Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

While the Thessalonians were commended for their work,,, Paul reminded them that God was the One who had brought about their election and that they were loved by Him.

Election,,, (translated from Greek,,, eklogon),,, carries the idea of God’s choice,,, or,,, selection.

___________________________________ Verses 5-6 said: 5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with much assurance. You know what kind of men we were among you for your benefit, 6 and you became imitators of us and of the Lord when, in spite of severe persecution, you welcomed the message with joy from the Holy Spirit.

The gospel is more than a message of words.

It is a message that comes in power and in the Holy Spirit.

The basic meaning of gospel (Gk euangelion) is “good news.”

Paul often further specified that it was not just any good news,,, but the good news that came from God (2:2, 8, 13).

Even though the church at Thessalonica was founded in the midst of severe persecution,,, the message was warmly received with joy that came from the Holy Spirit.

That God was working there,,, was also evident,,, since Paul and Silas were able to stay only for a short time before they were forced to leave,,, and yet,,, the church started and flourished anyway.

And if you read further into chapter 2:1-12,,, Paul goes into greater detail,,, as he describes what kind of men they were,,, in these verses.

___________________________________ Verses 7-10 said: 7 As a result, you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For the Lord’s message rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith in God has gone out. Therefore, we don’t need to say anything, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead —Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

The Thessalonians’ faith and gospel message spread throughout Macedonia and Achaia.

These two Roman provinces—Macedonia in the north and Achaia in the south—make up a large part of modern-day Greece.

In New Testament times,,, these provinces included major cities,,, such as Philippi,,, Athens,,, and Corinth.

Thessalonica was the capital of Macedonia.

And,,, it appears that Paul’s missionary strategy worked.

He evangelized the major cities with the expectation that the gospel would spread from there into the surrounding areas.

The Thessalonians’ predominantly Gentile background is seen because of the false worship of lifeless idols,,, that they gave up as they turned to serve the living and true God.

And,,, while the Thessalonians were enduring persecution,,, they were also waiting for the coming Son from heaven—Jesus,,, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

And,,, the “coming wrath”,,, was not a persecution that Paul and the Thessalonians were experiencing,,, or would experience from the unbelieving world,,, but a future time of God’s wrath against the unbelieving world.

Christians will be rescued from this,,, as we see from chapter 5:9.

Paul introduced the fact of Jesus’ resurrection here and later expressed the hope of the resurrection for Christians who had died.

___________________________________ As I read through this scripture earlier in the week,,, one verse caught my attention.

3 We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work of faith, labor of love, and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ,

And it was mostly the words,,, faith,,, love,,, and hope!

These words can help us through the times,,, like we had this week,,, where we are dealing with trials and heartache.

We have seen the way that people have come together in prayer,,, the way that all in the community have focused on praying for Bryce,,, Israel,,, Ms. Helen,,, Ms. Tressie,,, and others,,, as well!

We must understand,,, that our work of faith,,, labor of love,,, and endurance of hope,,, all come from our relationship in Jesus Christ!

___________________________________ And in these verses,,, Paul is encouraging the Thessalonians,,, so that they will continue in their work,,, in spite of their persecution!

And that's what is left for us to do as well!

We must continue,,, not ever giving up,,, realizing that God is in control,,, and doing what's best for all!

Also remembering,,, that I didn't say that God caused any of this to happen,,, just that He is doing the best for those that needed His help this week,,, even though the outcome wasn't what "we",,, wanted!

We need to take these words from Paul and use them as guidelines so that we can continue in our work,,, never forgetting the love that God has for us,,, especially during the times when we face tough times!

We cannot see today,,, everything that God is doing,,, we just have to trust Him,,, and know that He loves us!

Because it's when we continue in our work of faith, labor of love, and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ,,,, during these times of sadness,,, that we can look back one day,,, and truly see the way that God held onto our hand,,, as we continue our journey,,, on our own,,, pathway,,, home! ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction -----------------------------------------------------------