"Prayer:Remembering What We Know"
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(We give thanks to God Always for All of You)
1 Thess 1:2-10
Introduction:
- “Please and thank you” are polite expressions of appreciation, gratitude, and courtesy. Most of us were taught that they demonstrate good manners including deferring to others, holding the door when needed and addressing those the age of our parents or in authority as “Mr., Mrs., Miss” and more recently, “Ms.”
- Saying “Thank you” and “expressing appreciation” acknowledges and affirms vital services we need. That being the case, what do we indirectly communicate when we do not say, “Please and thank you”?
Assuming expressions of thanks and appreciation are important in everyday life, they are also essential in our relationships with family, our church family and especially our heavenly Father. The Apostle Paul regularly expressed thanks and appreciation for the ministry of others. Within these warm genuine affirmations, Paul also thanked God, the reason being, the faith, the love, and the hope of those to whom he wrote, testified of God’s grace and what it meant to be believers.
Writing to the church in Thessalonica, Paul acknowledged praying, remembering what he and others knew:
Paul, Silvanus & Timothy:
Paul & Silas (Silvanus - Latin) - second location (Acts 17:1-9) visited on 2nd missionary journey Acts 15-18 - sent out by church in Antioch. As in Philippi while there was an encouraging response to the proclamation of the Gospel, there was also significant opposition.
And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.
Timothy - Paul’s most notable discuple with roots in Lystra & Iconium - Acts 16:1-5
Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.
Stayed with Paul during first imprisonment - Phil 1:1; Col 1:1; Philemon 1
Spent time in prison - Heb 13:23.
The the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Church - ekklesia - callef out
Of the Thessalonians - local believers, those called out to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ by the preaching of the Gospel. Their response to the Gospel is explained later.
The local churches referred to in the New Testament were independant with a small “i”. And while they fellowshiped and supported each other at times, their accountablility was to each other and ultimtely to Christ the head foundation of the Church and the word of God Today, the terms that we use to describe that is the autonomy of the local church and sola Christus and sola Scriptura.
1. WE give thanks to God always for all of you – 1 Thess 1:2-3.
Some of us would naturally ask, why does Paul not thank them directly for their faith, love, hope, the way that they responded to the Gospel and other ways that they had encouraged him. Paul answers that question as he did of the Thessalonian believers who might have had the same question. That for which Paul thanked God and encoueaged was the fruit of their response to the word of God that worked in their lives.
For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews,
Give thanks to God
Always
For all of you.
With this short statment, Paul is telling as much about him as he is about the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Somehow by God’s and the ongoing impact of the word of God in their lives they were able to continue to see the best in each other and appreciate what God was doing in each and all of them.
- Mentioning you in our prayers/rememberingbefore our God and Father:
Paul often refers to these three inspeparable ministry attitudes and fruit of the spirit that testified that we have been crucified with Christ.
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
- Your work of faith
Although the New Testament often uses faith to describe our response to Gospel and the core what we believe, the faith once delivered to the saints - Jude 1:3.
James who talked about our faith being tested was not referencing a quiz on theology or a statement of faith, also stressed faith is more than what we profess to believe, it is also what we do.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
We demonsrtrate and confess our faith by what we by faith. That beautifully demonstrated by both Abraham and Rahab.
You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
- Labour of love
As with faith, the truth of the words “I love you” are demonstrated by what we do. Words and actions are both needed. Some of us know famlies where “I love you” is not regularyly voiced. Love needs to be expressed verbally and practically.
In Jesus’ parable of the “”Prodigal Son” love is never mentioned but the Father clearly demonstrated his love.
With each of his gifts the Father said i love you, I forgive you.
Robe - reserved for the guest of honour.
Ring - symbol of authority.
Shoes - restoration of sonship
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
- Steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Streadfastness/patience (KJV)/patient joyful edurance.
Their hope was in the Lord Jesus Christ and they continued to trust in him. In many way hope can be used interchangeably with faith.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Steadfastly we hope/trust/have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that what He promised to do, He will do.
And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
In essemce Paul prayed that the God of hope, whom we know ioves us with an everlasting love fill you will all joy and peace in believing , so that by the power of the Spirit, you may abound iun steasfast/patient hope, and more so when we have been crucified with Christ.
THIS FOR WHICH PAUL THANKS GOD IS THE UNEQUVICAL EVIDENCE OF THE WORK IF REGENERATION THAT GOD HAD DONE IN THEIR.
BECAUSE THIS IS OF GOD, THEIR FAITH WORKS, THEIR LOVE LABOURS AND THEIR HOPE IS STEADFAST.
2. For WE know, brothers loved by God – 1 Thess 1:4-5.
That being the case, Paul says there are things that we know.
- That He has chosen you:
The church, ekklesia, called outl are now said to be chosen by God. In some translations, elect, eklogein, to choose out to a privilege of divine grace. For Israel, and sinners who were chosen by God, this is solely by God’s grace.
I realize that a reference to chosen or elect make a few people uncomfortable. There is no way that we can understand the reason for that uneasiness. This is not the place to unpack from the Scriptures all that is explained.
For now we needd to remember that we are all completely spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins.
Being chosen is all about grace, not what we deserve.
All who those who are not elect, who do not become the called called will have rejected God’s in whatever form they heard and chosen to reject God’s grace and the Gospel.
- Because our gospel came to you,
One of the ways that we know God has called us out, has elected us is how we respond to the word of God.
When we hear the word as the word of God, it penetrates our hearts,exposes the malignant sin in our sins. We hear that sin means death and plead with God to remove that malignancy and heal us spiritually, making us new new creatures in Christ.
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
- Not only in the word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit, and with full conviction.
3. YOU know – 1 Thess 1:5-10.
- What kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
- And you became imitators of us and of our Lord,
- For you received the word with much affliction,
- With joy of the Holy Spirit.
- So that you became an example TO ALL the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
- For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia.
- But your faith in God has gone forth, everywhere, so that we need not say anything.
4. THEY themselves (impacted by Macedonia & Achaia testimony) know and report concerning us:
- The kind of reception we had among you.
- And how you turned to God, from idols:
-To serve the living and true God,
- And to wait for His Son from heaven,
- Whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from wrath to come.
If someone were to write a letter to Faithway, for what would they thank God and what in our responses to the Gospel sound forth and are reported examples of our faith and how we receive both those who preach/ teach the word of the Lord and the word itself?
AWV/Jan `14/24