My Part, God's Part, Their Part (1 Thessalonians 1:4-10)
Following Faithfully: Lessons in Discipleship from Thessalonians • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 49:42
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Key Passage
Key Passage
For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you,
because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.
You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it,
for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell 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 rescues us from the coming wrath.
Series Introduction
Series Introduction
Introduce 1 Thessalonians series
Series is entitled: Following Faithfully- Lessons in Discipleship from the Thessalonians
Now that we are two weeks in, I want to highlight the path of our journey through this book.
We have seen the introduction to the book where we learned about the Thessalonian people
This was a group of people who had only been introduced to the Gospel for a short time
As we will find as we continue in this series, Timothy and Silas likely returned to Thessalonica to continue to encourage this church. This is how Paul gets the reports about how this church is doing.
But the introduction to the Gospel was very short.
Some believed, others did not.
Because of this, we are taking a very simple look at the journey of these Thessalonian people as they follow Jesus.
This book has been called a “Manual of Discipleship”
In it we see the relationship, teaching and life example of Paul, Timothy and Silas.
We see the work of God in the lives of these young believers
And we see the response of the Thessalonians to the Gospel and how they chose to follow Jesus.
In it, we see all of the elements of the call of discipleship that Jesus gave to His disciples
FOLLOW JESUS
CHANGED BY JESUS
ON MISSION WITH JESUS (They made more disciples)
We see that the Thessalonians went from knowing nothing to dynamic followers of Jesus
This letter is a snapshot of that journey and how Paul continued to encourage them along the way.
Last week, we looked at Paul’s thanksgiving to God for the impact of the Gospel in the lives of the Thessalonians
We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.
We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
In this, we highlighted three words: Faith, Love and Hope
Each of them produce something within the life of a disciple.
I bring up last weeks passage in our introduction because it is connected to our passage today.
As Paul tells this church about the report he has heard about them, we see:
Work produced by faith
Labor prompted by love
Endurance inspired by hope in Jesus Christ
Main Teaching
Main Teaching
Text Review
Text Review
To navigate our text today, I will take a broad look at the text, then we will break it down into some very simple and important points for those of us who are learning to be disciples of Jesus.
For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you,
because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.
You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
Paul goes into the report that he has heard about the Thessalonian church.
He says, “our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.”
Paul says, “We came and preached the Gospel about Jesus Christ. But it was not words. God showed up and the impact was massive.”
Paul then says, “For the time we were there, we lived among you and you put the Gospel into action within your lives. You saw how we lived following Jesus and you did the same.”
Since we are disciples following Jesus and you followed our model, you too became followers of Jesus.
Just like Paul suffered, this church also suffered, but they had the joy of the Holy Spirit within them as they suffered.
And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
Paul was a model to the Thessalonians.
Then the Thessalonians became a living model to all of the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
Macedonia included northern Greece and what is now known as the country of Macedonia
Achaia is the region we would now consider southern Greece.
Including where Paul was likely writing the letter from in Corinth
The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it,
for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell 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 rescues us from the coming wrath.
The message has rang out everywhere.
Paul says, “You guys have been fantastic.” I don’t need to say anything about it, because what God has done in your church is known everywhere.”
Then Paul identifies the testimony of these believers
They turned from idols
The pagan Greek gods
to serve the living and true God.
...and they are waiting for Jesus to return from heaven. The same Jesus who resurrected from the dead and is our salvation from the wrath of God upon sinners.
Paul identifies the message they received and the message they were presenting.
The testimony of the Thessalonians was incredible.
They were sinners and rejecting God
Then, because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, they became a bright light of truth in the world at their time.
I believe this is a great understanding of what discipleship looks like.
Did these Thessalonians leave their old ways and FOLLOW JESUS?
Did the hearts of these Thessalonians change? Were they CHANGED BY JESUS?
Did the mission of the Thessalonians change? Did they become FISHERS OF MEN and join with the MISSION OF JESUS in their world?
They did all of these things very clearly.
This is why I want to break this text down so we can see what we can learn from as disciples in our time.
I want to see this kind of impact in the world. I want to see the testimony of Jesus in the lives of our believers spreading all over the world.
Teaching Points
Teaching Points
I want to break this down so we can see some of the critical pieces in play in this passage.
If you’ve noticed, we are emphasizing definitions of things. I don’t like throwing around churchy language without a clear and unifying understanding of these words. We will be doing much of the same today.
In the Great Commission, Jesus said:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
In this, we find three key elements in this lifelong journey of discipleship.
Jesus tells His disciples to make disciples
There is the role of the person making disciples
There is also the corresponding role of the disciple that is being made
Then at the end, Jesu says, “I will be with you always” God has a part in the discipleship process as well.
You will find this in every aspect of life in Jesus.
He created us to have roles.
We have roles in society
We have roles within the church
We have roles in our family
We have roles in discipleship
A big part of following Jesus is understanding my part, so I can do my part for my own growth and the growth of the Kingdom of God.
We are going to break this passage down into three segments
Paul’s Part (making disciples)
God’s Part
Thessalonians Part (being a disciple)
Paul’s Part (making disciples)
Paul’s Part (making disciples)
What was Paul’s role with the Thessalonian church?
Before Paul showed up in town, everything was peaceful. Everyone was going about life on a day to day basis.
Then Paul showed up. Some people were saved while others rejected.
The people who were saved now had a new purpose, the people who rejected also had a new purpose.
But, Paul’s arrival made a big impact in Thessalonica. Paul had a role to play in their discipleship.
Paul had a very important part to play in the Thessalonian story.
Paul’s Part
Paul presented the Gospel
because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power
First, Paul came and preached the Gospel.
“Gospel” is a word that is thrown around in the church world.
While we don’t know the exact words Paul used to present the Gospel, we do know what he re-emphasized about his message in this text.
They tell 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 rescues us from the coming wrath.
Paul’s Gospel Message:
There is one God
He is living
He is truth
In His Son Jesus is salvation
Salvation results in repentance
Apart from Jesus is the wrath of God
Jesus rose from the dead
Jesus is returning
Paul’s Part
Paul presented the Gospel
Paul modeled a life following Jesus
You know how we lived among you for your sake.
You became imitators of us and of the Lord
Paul lived out the life of a person following Jesus in front of the Thessalonians.
Paul showed the Thessalonian church what life was like to follow Jesus.
This is not discipleship class. This is discipleship with relationship
They are not just learning facts. They are seeing how to obey Jesus’ commands.
Again, I would like to go to the great commission:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
This was not teaching for knowledge.
This was modeling out obedience in front of them. It was vulnerable.
It was humble, but it was profound.
How many of us could say to a new believer, “Do you know what the life of a disciple looks like? Come live in my house for a week and you will see.”
Discipleship is a whole life commitment.
Paul’s Part
Paul presented the Gospel
Paul modeled a life following Jesus
Paul prayed for the Thessalonians
I’m cheating a bit here, but we are going through this book slowly, so I have the right to do it. We are going to look at last weeks text:
We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.
Paul lifted the Thessalonians up in prayer.
This was Paul’s part in the discipleship of the Thessalonians
He spoke the truth
He lived the truth
He prayed.
Next, I want to look at God’s part.
We can see a very important part that God played in the Thessalonian church.
God’s Part
God’s Part
If a disciple if following Jesus, does God have a part to play in their growth?
Yes!
Let’s continue to break this text down:
God’s Part:
Love
We can spend quite bit of time here, but we covered a large portion of this last week.
For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you,
I want to navigate the second half of this verse first, then the first half.
God chose them.
This is one of the areas that Christians get very caught up in the weeds and become divisive.
This is one of the theological distinctives of our church— unity.
There are those who will say that this passage means that God chooses some for salvation, and in turn chooses for others not to be saved.
They will get a bunch of Bible verses together that will back up their position.
There are others who will see this usage and say that as a result of their salvation God specially chose them to be a unique light in the world at that time and place.
These people will get their list of Bible verses together and back up their position
Which group of people are saved?
Group A or Group B?
Both are saved because salvation comes by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
Not on a specific view of a specific theology.
We have people in our church that sit on both sides of this discussion.
Do you know what? We love both of them. We disciple both of them. We show grace!
The church of all places ought to be the place we show grace.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t have an opinion on this matter. You should.
And your opinion should be rooted in your study of Scripture, not rooted in your favorite author or internet preachers arguments.
With that, let’s circle back around to the word “love”
Last week, I spoke about the AGAPE love of God
A love based on identity, not performance.
But this is a special love that God has for those who are saved by grace through faith.
To understand this, I want to walk this all the way out:
We were created to be in a holy relationship with a holy God
Sin broke that relationship
Jesus’ sacrifice paid the penalty for our sin and restored a holy relationship with God
Because of Jesus, I have relationship with God
This is a relational love between God and I.
In Ephesians it says, “Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church.”
There is a love God has for the church and it is tremendous.
God’s Part:
Love
Salvation
I’m not going to spend too much time here because we have already said this in the Gospel presentation that Paul gave
But, God made a way for us to be saved. Salvation is God’s part in a disciples life.
God’s Part:
Love
Salvation
Holy Spirit
because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.
You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
This is a massively important topic for the life of a believer.
God the Father is God
Jesus is God
The Holy Spirit is God
As we have said, we were created to be in relationship with God the Father. This was what we were created for.
God came to the earth in Jesus Christ. Jesus was God in the flesh. He lived a sinless life, died on the cross and resurrected from the dead.
Jesus is the way to the Father
The Holy Spirit is the third person in the Godhead.
Fully God and He lives within each believer from the moment they place their faith in Jesus Christ.
Many people get a little bit tentative when talking about the Holy Spirit
Sometimes, so much so that they neglect ever even talking about the Holy Spirit.
This is often because they see the pendulum swing to the other side where the Holy Spirit and His gifts become so central that there is no longer any need for Biblical truth and the entire Christian walk is lived out emotional experience to emotional experience.
Again, this is a topic that we will not be divisive on.
We will teach about the Holy Spirit in exactly what the text shows us about the Holy Spirit.
Let’s take a look at this text.
because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.
The Holy Spirit brought deep conviction to the Thessalonians.
You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit enabled them to have joy, even when they were suffering
We ought not fear teaching about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is critical to our lives as disciples of Jesus.
I want to walk through a few verses about what Jesus said the Holy Spirit would be and see if it aligns with our text.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—
the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
The Holy Spirit will live within us
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
The Holy Spirit will teach and remind us of the words of Jesus
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:
about sin, because people do not believe in me;
about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer;
and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
The Holy Spirit will convict us of sin
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
The Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
The Holy Spirit will grow us into Biblical maturity
Does this sound like the Holy Spirit that the Thessalonians experienced?
because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.
You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
As disciples, we need the Holy Spirit in our lives.
The Thessalonians Part
The Thessalonians Part
You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it,
for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,
The Thessalonians:
Welcomed the Gospel
Imitated Paul with their lives
Became a model for others to imitate
Shared the Gospel
Grew in faith
Repented
The Thessalonian believers were humble and received the message of the Gospel
They saw the Gospel in action and strived to change their lives to follow Jesus
They allowed the Holy Spirit to bring conviction of sin and took the steps of obedience
They then began to live out the Gospel life to the people around them
This grew their faith!
Conclusion
Conclusion
In our passage today, we see the foundation of living out a life of discipleship
Discipleship is often communicated as a class or attending church.
Discipleship has a few elements
We are all called to be disciples
We are all called to mature
We are all called to make disciples
We are all called to be disciples
Like the Thessalonians, we are all called to hear the Gospel, engage in relationship. Discover what the Christian life looks like in action.
Live humble lives, willing to surrender to God’s direction and truth.
We are all called to mature
I think we all want to jump directly to making disciples.
But in this, we see the time that it took the Thessalonians to mature in their faith.
They learned the truth, and how to obey to the point that others could see the truth in their lives.
This is sometimes the hardest process
Between Jesus calling His disciples and sending His disciples, it took over 3 years.
But we cannot fast-track maturity.
This is a leading and direction by the Holy Spirit into the words and truth of Jesus.
Jesus said that He is the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the FATHER except through Him
The Spirit guides us, the Son prepares our way, now we must learn to know the Fathers voice as we grow in the relationship we were designed to have.
We are all called to make disciples
The result of maturity is making more disciples
We see Paul’s example of speaking the Gospel and living a relational life out so that new believers would have an example to follow.
The Christian life is so much better when we have relationship and an example to follow.
Real Life in Action:
Head- Do I have all three roles at work in my life?
Heart- Am I relying on the Holy Spirit to lead me into truth?
Hands- Discuss your discipleship journey with someone.
Head- Do I have a discipler leading me? Trust God for Maturity? Obedience in my role?
or— Do I have maturity and am I intentionally discipling someone else? How am I trusting God?
Heart- Far too often, we rely on preachers, books or other resources to lead us into all truth. We have the Holy Spirit within us. Have you spent time in the word and prayer asking for guidance from the Holy Spirit? We will know the Holy Spirit is at work when we align with Jesus Christ, and strive for obedience. It can be emotional, but the outcome of the work of the Spirit is leading us to the Father through Jesus Christ.
Hands- Intentionally engage someone this week and discuss their role in your discipleship journey. Share what God is showing you through His Spirit. Share the impact of another person in your life.
