First Thessalonians

The world seems to have a common misconception about born again believers.

They seem to believe that somehow those of us that attend Church on a regular basis, are some how insulated from the real struggles of life.

I believe the world gets this misconception by how, many church goers, seem to observe an unwritten law,

that says while attending church if you pretend that your life is perfect you may just be able to convince others that it is.

Kind of like those that think if you tell a lie long enough eventually people begin to believe it.

Of course, most of us know from personal experience that Christians are real people with real problems and real life struggles.

The variable that changes problems into peace and struggles into success is not the absence of problems and struggles, it is the personal, life changing encounter with the God of the Bible through the person of Jesus Christ.

For those that are here this morning that have never had such an encounter, let me explain how it makes such a difference.

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (KJV 1900)

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV 1900

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

From the moment you embrace the Gospel, the entire picture and pursuit of your life is radically transformed.

The gospel goes way beyond reforming character or insulating you from the challenges of life, it brings about the transformation of your heart.

This morning I want to start a new series on first thessalonians that I have entitiled Living with heaven on your mind.

Anytime I start a new series that is looking at a book or books of God’s Word I like to give a introduction to the book or in this case the letter written from Paul to the churches in Thessalonica.

So to begin first we need to understand the backdrop for the letter.

The Backdrop for the Letter

This was one of Pauls first letters.

Most likely written around 50 AD.

First and second Thessalonians were written in close proximity to the founding of the church.

Most likely with in 6 months and 9 mo

First Thessalonians is quite pastoral,

Paul is seeking to comfort and encourage the church about the second coming of Christ.

about living pure

about living with heaven on their mind

the church at Thessalonica was established in Acts 17

Acts 17:1 KJV 1900

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

Thessalonica was most likely where Paul was headed after receiving the call to go to Macedonia (16:9-10)

he went here most likely Due to its large size.

Population of 65,000 to 100,000

He went here after first stopping in Phillipi

Just like all the other cities Paul entered, Thessalonica had problems but through Pauls preaching and instruction, this city would have a major impact on the gospel getting around the world.

So in order to understand the letter Paul wrote to the church we must go to when it was founded.

turn with me to Acts 17.

The Founding of the Church in the Letter

Acts 17:2-9; 1Thess.1:1

“Be careful” are words all parents have uttered to their children.

I have used those words more than I can count, and when I was growing up I heard those words ALOT.

As loving parents we dont want our children to take unnecessary risks?

In life, risk—whether it be an uncertain investment, a drive on a dangerous mountain road, or sharing a secret with an untrustworthy friend—is something to be avoided.

But, when you follow Jesus Christ you will take some risks because following Him is more than a choice to live a different life; in a real sense, a different life chooses you.

This new life leads you to take big steps and bold risks.

Jesus put it this way: (Luke 9:23–24

Luke 9:23–24 (KJV 1900)

And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it

Later Jesus would look squarely at the multitudes and challenge them to “count the cost” of following Him (Luke 14:28–33).

Risk comes at great cost, and not everyone is willing to pay it.

Denying self,

taking up crosses,

and following a revolutionary figure like Jesus Christ are not natural pursuits for anyone.

This kind of risk-taking requires a supernatural motivation.

Mark Howell, David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Thessalonians, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 4–5.

There are two things that we see about the founding of the church from this verse

A. The Gospel Motivates Us to be Passionate

The The Thessalonian letter begins by introducing the founders of the church—Paul, Silvanus (Silas), and Timothy (1:1).

Before arriving in Thessalonica, Paul, Silas, and Timothy had visited Philippi.

Philippi proved to be both a formidable place to preach the gospel and a serious test of their resolve and character.

Although their experience in Philippi nearly cost them their lives, it did not shake their confidence in God’s calling.

Far from being dissuaded from their mission, Paul, Silas, and Timothy forged ahead with a renewed sense of passion and urgency.

They rejoiced that in the midst of their personal adversities, God was up to something big.

Many lives were transformed, a vibrant church was planted, and the gospel was advancing.

Mark Howell, David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Thessalonians, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 5.

1. To be Passionate About the Advancement of the Gospel (Acts 17:1-2)

For Paul and his companions ministry was less about their own good fortune and more about the advancement of the good news.

How unfortunate to view ministry as more about our comfort than about God’s calling or to be more consumed about what we want God to do for us than about what He desires to do through us. We would do well to recognize a discernible link between adversity and the great purposes of God.

The pattern emerging from Paul’s ministry was that whether he experienced a revival or a riot, he remained inexorably committed to his calling.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer captures what it means to follow Christ like this very powerfully

Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Thessalonians The Gospel Motivates Us to Go and Tell

God honors some with great suffering and grants them the grace of martyrdom, while others are not tempted beyond their strength. But in every case it is one cross. It is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering that everyone has to experience is the call which summons us away from our attachments to this world. It is the death of the old self in the encounter with Jesus Christ. Those who enter into discipleship enter into Jesus’ death. They turn their living into dying.… Whenever Christ calls us, his call leads us to death. (Bonhoeffer, Discipleship, 87)

So whether he was beaten and imprisoned in Philippi, chased and pursued in Thessalonica, or ridiculed and mocked in Athens, Paul affirmed without hesitation that he was not ashamed of the gospel (Rom 1:16).

Mark Howell, David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Thessalonians, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 6.

The Gospel motivates us, the Church, to be passionate about the advancement of the Gospel, regardless of the circumstances

1. To be Passionate about the advancement of the Gospel (Acts 17:1-2a)

2. To be Passionate About the Announcement of the Gospel (Acts 17:2b-4)

Without question, our lives are awash in a sea of opinions. From well-meaning friends to aggressive advertisers, there is never a shortage of people who want to tell us what we should do or how we should live.

However, followers of Jesus Christ do not interpret the world through the lens of human opinion; they interpret the world through the lens of Scripture.

Upon their arrival in Thessalonica, Paul, Silas, and Timothy made their way to the synagogue.

It provided the perfect setting to preach the good news.

Their goal was not to add another religious opinion to the already overly saturated religious climate of Thessalonica.

Instead, for three weeks Paul “reasoned with them from the Scriptures” (Acts 17:2).

Paul had a message and he was not going to let anything stand in his way of preaching this message.

For three weeks Paul was in the synagogue reasoning with them from the scriptures

He did not talk about them, he reasoned from them

there is a big difference

to talk means you are giving oppertuinity for debate

to reason, not reason like you and I know it, to reason here means to speak thoroughly, to expound

Paul was not leaving room for debate

He was so passionate about his message, about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that he wanted others to hear it because he knew it was the truth

to many “preachers” today want to talk to you about Jesus

I think its high time we start doing a little less talking and a lot more reasoning (preaching)

Paul engaged their minds

Paul explained the meaning of Scriptures

Paul illustrated biblical truth in a way they could see the implications of its message for their lives

Preaching the Gospel is not just for the preacher behind the pulpit, it is for every born again believer

the gospel should motivate us all to be passionate about the advancement and the announcement of it.

Pauls preaching of the good news was about to present Paul and his fellow soldiers with a big problem

A. The Gospel Motivates Us to be Passionate

B. The Gospel Motivates Us to Press on and Persevere

Acts 17:5-9

Whenever the gospel is preached, you can generally anticipate one of three responses.

First, some people will get angry.

This response is common in today’s world when Christians are regularly labeled as hatemongers for declaring the exclusivity of Jesus as the only way to God.

Second, some people will elevate that anger to the level of persecution.

Around the globe untold millions of Christians live in imminent physical danger and many have lost their lives for the sake of preaching Jesus.

Finally, when the gospel is preached, there will always be some people who will embrace the message and be saved.

These were the exact responses in Thessalonica.

The excitement of the Jews, God-fearing Greeks, and leading women who embraced the gospel was about to be interrupted by an angry mob of envious Jews and evil men who had no appetite for the message.

Their initial response of anger had escalated to persecution.

The gospel that had come to Thessalonica was threatening to turn their city “upside down” by challenging the authority of Caesar through the claim that there was “another king—Jesus” (Acts 17:6–7).

This serious charge came with serious consequences.

Simply put, the message of Jesus was counter-cultural to the Thessalonians.

It hit the very heart of the city.

If Jesus was the true King, then Caesar was not.

If Jesus was the only Savior, then all the shrines and temples were worthless monuments built to worship worthless gods.

If Jesus was in fact the Son of God, then God must be real.

And if God was indeed real, then they were accountable to Him.

The message of Jesus was therefore unpalatable to most of the Thessalonians, and they were determined to mute the message and the messengers by whatever means necessary.

When Jesus Christ is faithfully preached, you don’t have to go looking for trouble; trouble will often come looking for you.

Mark Howell, David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Thessalonians, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 7–8.

1. They Kept Going Despite Adversity

The decision to leave the city was doubtlessly painful for Paul.

A true shepherd is driven not by personal ambition but by pastoral concern.

Added to his own personal struggles, a pastor also carries the burdens of those entrusted to his care.

Most pastors will tell you that even when God calls them to a new ministry, their fond affection remains for the people they leave behind.

Paul may have continued on his journey to advance the gospel, but his heart was still very much in the city.

He may have escaped the persecution of the angry mob, but he could not escape his concern for the new believers he left behind.

Was the adversity too great? Were they still running the race? Did they feel as if he had abandoned them? \

When you gaze through the window of Paul’s heart, you begin to see his passionate love for the church.

When he finally pens his letter to the church, his words give us some indication of the inner turmoil he experienced by having to leave them so hastily.

They Kept Going Despite Adversity

2. They Kept Growing Despite Affliction

The Thessalonian church was alive and well.

Instead of snuffing out the light of the gospel, affliction had the opposite effect.

As early church father Tertullian so aptly affirmed in his Apologeticus, “persecution quite often leads to a stronger church because the blood of the martyrs becomes the seed of the church.”

The seeds that Paul had planted in Thessalonica were growing in the fertile soil of affliction.

The Thessalonian church was growing in its faith in Christ and in its love for Paul.

Of course, the church was not perfect.

The church was made up of real people who were living out their faith in a very real world.

The gospel brought them transformation in their hearts but they had a long way to go in the sanctification of their lives.

Mark Howell, David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Thessalonians, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 9.

When we face affliction wither personal or congregational, we grow. We become stronger spiritually.

Water is good for plants but if you give them water with out getting them into the sunlight they will still die.

The right amount of sunlight can cause a plant to florish

God knows just how much we can handle

He knows how much heat we need to grow.

A. The gospel motivates us

B. The Gospel Transforms Us

1Thess. 1:1b

1. The Gospel Transforms People

The word translated “church” is ekkle¯sia coming from two Greek words (ek kaleo¯) meaning “called out.”

The church then is the “called-out ones.”

As we have already observed, Paul’s preaching impacted the Thessalonians in such a profound way that Jews, God-fearing Greeks, and “leading women” embraced his message.

However, if you pick something up, it most often requires that you put something down.

When these believers turned to God, they were turning away from their past way of life.

One of the most fundamental truths of the gospel has been expressed in this way.

When a person comes to know Jesus, they will know change and if there is no change, there is likely no Jesus (2 Cor 13:5

2 Corinthians 13:5 KJV 1900

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

God called many of the Thessalonians out of the legalism of Judaism, the emptiness of idol worship, and the bankruptcy of religious ritual.

They abandoned their former lives “to serve the living and true God” (1:9).

Their lives changed and changed radically.

They were called out of darkness into light.

They were called out of their sin and into sonship.

Their new standing was on the basis that they were now “in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:1b), which is the essence of what it means to be the church.

A church is not built on the foundation of programs or strategies, but on the Lord Jesus Christ. Mark Howell, David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Thessalonians, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 10–11.

When the gospel penetrates hearts it transforms people.

Transformed people constitute the church.

This concept is the essence of the believers’ church, and this was what Paul founded in Thessalonica.

1. The Gospel Transforms People

2. The Gospel Transforms Your Position

For many years, the American Express Company told its customers that “membership has its privileges.”

The privileges of a credit card company may offer some short-term benefits, but they pale in comparison to the lasting riches that are guaranteed to those who are in Christ Jesus.

To be a member of God’s church means that you are the beneficiary of God’s grace and peace.

Notice that these are not rights to which you are entitled, they are gifts that are given to the church.

i. Grace: Your Standing before God

Before being transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ, no person, regardless of how deserving or noble, enjoys a proper relationship with God.

Sin, like a thick fog on the darkest of nights, blinds our eyes from seeing God for Who He is.

Even our best efforts to cut through the fog and darkness prove to be woefully inadequate.

Religion can’t do it.

Love for our fellow man can’t do it.

Our best intentions can’t do it.

We are like the travelers on the highway wanting so desperately to speed on ahead but unable to do so because we can’t see beyond the hoods of our cars.

You know the feeling of helplessness and frustration if you have ever been in that situation.

The fog of our sin is just that way.

It is simply too thick and there is nothing we can do to lift it.

We are hopelessly lost and there is no way out.

We may try to ignore it and press on recklessly, but on the horizon there is a precipice that is growing closer and closer.

Many people live their lives in this way.

Sin has blinded them and they cannot see.

The prognosis is not good.

There is a cliff in the distance, and it is called “judgment.”

They speed down life’s highway oblivious to the imminent danger ahead.

Before we can have a relationship with God, God Himself must do something about the fog.

He has to help us see through it.

Here the good news enters the picture.

God offers a way out through Jesus Christ.

God lifts the fog by grace.

Grace in its fullest expression is revealed by the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on the cross.

God hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him(2 Cor 5:21

2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV 1900

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

By His own initiative, God gives us a way out.

The way out is a Person and His name is Jesus Christ.

His forgiveness can’t be earned … it’s a gift.

The only way to get this forgiveness is to receive it as a gift (John 1:12).

The only way to get the gift of God is through Jesus Christ

The moment we receive Jesus our standing before God radically changes.

We are immediately delivered from the fog and the darkness of our sin.

Our citizenship is immediately transferred to a different kingdom, and we are clothed with a righteousness that is not our own (Col 1:13–14; Isa 61:10

Isaiah 61:10 KJV 1900

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

God did not create the fog; we did.

Yet because of His love for us, He provides a way out.

God does for us what we could never do for ourselves.

Through Christ we now stand in a proper relationship with God, and it is all because of His grace.

This is exactly what happened to the Thessalonians.

When their standing before God changed, their lives changed because they were the recipients of God’s grace.

Mark Howell, David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Thessalonians, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 11–12.

i. Grace: Your Standing before God

ii. Peace: Your Relationship with God

Sin not only destroys our standing before God, it also destroys our peace with God.

Sin means war.

You and I are at war with each other, and we are at war with God (Col 1:21

Colossians 1:21 KJV 1900

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

When we are at war, there is no real peace.

It’s no coincidence that public demand for sleep medication nets billions of dollars in revenue for pharmaceutical companies each year.

Many of us can’t rest peacefully at night because we aren’t living with peace during the day.

This includes peace in our relationships with others and peace in our relationship with God.

The sobering reality is that people are looking for peace in all the wrong places.

Jesus Christ offers a lasting peace—peace with one another, peace with yourself, but most important, peace with God.

Let’s bring this into focus as it relates to the Thessalonians.

An angry mob has stirred up their city, disrupted their fellowship, threatened their well-being, and chased away their friends.

This is a recipe for sleepless nights and anxious days, right?

Not exactly.

You see, you could take away their stuff, but you could not take away their peace.

If God’s grace is real, then His peace is not only possible, but it is guaranteed.

David declares in (Ps 121:4

Psalm 121:4 KJV 1900

Behold, he that keepeth Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

Since God is more than capable to keep watch over your life, there is no good reason why any follower of Jesus Christ should not be able to rest no matter how difficult the circumstances.

Mark Howell, David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Thessalonians, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 12.

Conclusion

Indeed, Paul’s time in Thessalonica was short. If we did not have access to the “rest of the story,” we might readily conclude that his mission there was a failure.

But as we have seen, the faith of these young Thessalonian believers was anything but superficial.

They had a genuine love for Christ and a zealous passion for proclaiming His transforming gospel.

Despite Paul’s forceful eviction from the city, the faith of the Thessalonians persevered.

although Paul was physically absent, his presence continued to be felt as he took up his pen and wrote his epistles.

Even in the midst of the most troubling circumstances, God was doing His work in His way.

Paul would never return to the city of Thessalonica, but God was going to do far more there than Paul ever could have imagined.

As John Phillips insightfully notes,

The Holy Spirit showed Paul there was more than one way to evangelize a city. If he could not go back to Thessalonica in person he could write the church a letter.… A new method of evangelism was born—literature evangelism.… Down through the ages millions have been saved through reading those letters, and millions more have had their faith strengthened.… God knows how to overrule our mistakes. He makes the very wrath of man to praise Him. (Phillips, Exploring Acts, 341)

That is how God works.

No matter how routine the details of your life may appear, not a single detail is wasted by God.

If God can use angry mobs (Acts 17:5) and frustrated plans (1 Thess 2:18) to bring about one of the most insightful and encouraging epistles in the New Testament, then you can be sure that He will also use your life experiences to bring about your ultimate good and His greater glory (Rom 8:28).

While on this side of heaven you are afforded only an occasional glimpse of what He is doing in the world, you know that God is up to far more than you could ever imagine.

The Thessalonians have long since been transported to their eternal home, but their faith continues to inspire and encourage.

You stand on their shoulders.

You also know that a day is coming when those who follow you will stand on yours.

That’s what it means to be a part of God’s church.

If you are here this morning and do not know Christ as your savior, I urge you come today and He will meet you at the foot of His cross.

Call on Him today and be saved.

Become part of God’s Church today.