Defiant Disciples

Greeting

Reading of Statement & Mention of 2 churches launching today.

Reading

1 Thessalonians 2:1–3 NIV

You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you

The Message

So, friends, it’s obvious that our visit to you was no waste of time. We had just been given rough treatment in Philippi, as you know, but that didn’t slow us down. We were sure of ourselves in God, and went right ahead and said our piece, presenting God’s Message to you, defiant of the opposition.

Defiant Disciples

Introduction

Is it ever cute to be defiant?

Have you ever seen a defiant toddler?

It’s kind of cute, right? They literally think the world revolves around them, don’t they?

My son Jaxon when he was just old enough to walk and talk, he’d stomp his little foot and say, “I won’t!”

Cute when they’re little, but as they age, it stops being cute, right?

But is there ever a justified reason to be defiant?

Yes, of course there is.

When something is unjust, defiance may be the only option.

When something hurts or harms another person, defiance is a justified option.

The Civil Rights Movement was a necessary defiance to bring our nation to where we are at today. A lot of progress has been made because of the defiance of brave men and women to reshape the laws of our nation.

Transition

And today, we’re going to unpack defiance a bit because as Paul was trying to teach the city of Thessalonica about Jesus, they were doing it in defiance to the groups of their day.

Jesus was bad for the idolatry business, and Jesus was bad for the religious Jews.

The disciples had a choice to make. Surrender to the culture and to the religious, or be defiant disciples telling everyone and anyone about this man named Jesus.

So let’s turn to the text and read through it together.

Text - Exegesis

The Victorious God

Paul reminds the church that their visit was not without results. Why did he feel the need to say that? Because Paul was in Thessalonica for a very short period of time, perhaps only 3 weeks.

Is it possible to plant a church in three weeks? Is it possible to start a movement of any sort of worth in only three weeks?

Paul seems to think so, and this chapter is going to show us why Paul believes so.

Now before Paul gets to that, he starts by setting the table.

Let’s read once more how Paul does that:

1 Thessalonians 2:1–3 NIV

We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi…

Paul sets the table by reminding them of how he got there.

Let’s pause right here and think about this for a second.

How many times are do you get so caught up in the present that you forget about your past.

What I mean by that is, don’t look at your present struggle and forget about how God got you out of your last struggle.

You need to put your present struggle in it’s place. Remind your present struggle, that the God that delivered you from your last struggle didn’t go anywhere.

He is still right here with me. He is living within me. The God that didn’t let me fail yesterday, is the God who is going to give me the victory today.

[Pause]

Too many times we allow what’s in front of us to stop us from what’s ahead of us.

Paul is reminding them that it wasn’t easy to get here, but here we are.

This is for some of you this morning…

The amount of fighting you had to do with your kids just to get here, but here you are.

The push back you’ve dealt with from your family for being a Christian, but here you are.

The criticism you’ve faced from your teachers with a secular progressive idealogy, but here you are.

And all of that is just to set the table for what God is getting ready to do…

Dare to Preach the Gospel

And so in spite of that, Paul writes:

1 Thessalonians 2:1–3 NIV

with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition.

Paul didn’t preach out of convenience or comfort, he preached in spite of heavy persecution. Paul preached in spite of resistance. Paul preached in spite of the riots.

Paul was defiant with the world at odds with his savior.

Can I tell you what we need more of?

We need more Christians who will stand up and preach the gospel, even when it is inconvenient. Even if it comes with persecution. Even if it sets you at odds with the culture today.

I don’t mean to be critical, but I need to sound the alarm.

I see far too many Christians who don’t preach the gospel in the face of convenience, and that let’s me know that if there was even a hint of persecution they would go silent.

The church cannot lose its boldness.

The church cannot lost its grit.

We cannot blend in with a world that is calling evil good, and good evil.

We must become defiant disciples.

The Test

Pastor, are you advocating for the church to stop loving? Didn’t Jesus call us to love and to love our enemies?

Yes! Yes he did!

But we’ve gone from loving our enemies to affirming anything and everything to violates the word of God, in the name of love.

And that is not what the scriptures teach us. Let me lead you to it…

1 Thessalonians 2:4 NIV

On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.

A defiant disciple is not someone with a critical spirit and a judgmental heart.

We know people like that, right?

That’s not a defiant disciple, because they’re not even a disciple.

A defiant disciple is someone who seeks the approval of God, even if it displeases people.

It’s like that old hymn, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back. The cross before me, the world behind me, no turning back, no turning back. Though none go with me, still I will follow, no turning back, no turning back…”

When did the church start to believe that it’s better to offend God than it is to offend people?

When the church made “loving your neighbor” synonymous with “people pleasing.”

And God didn’t call us to please people, but to love our neighbor. And we have to learn to love well.

And part of loving well is telling people about Jesus. Telling them about His ways. Telling them that they don’t only live once, but that they will live again if they live well according to God’s word and following Jesus.

Gladly Received

Now that Paul has set the table, he gives the church their commendation…

1 Thessalonians 2:13 NIV

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

You received the word as the word of God.

Let me ask the question, “What is your disposition to hearing God’s word?”

Let me go about it this way…

We came out of a family and parenting series and in that series I made a number of recommendations that I believe to be wisdom and counsel out of God’s word.

I am not naive and I don’t fully expect for you to do everything that I recommended you do. And that is completely OK. You are to lead your home, and I am not the one who will give an account for how you led your home, you will.

But when we get into a series like this one where we read through the Bible verse by verse, you don’t have that same liberty.

The Bible says what it says.

You cannot call yourself a follower of Jesus if you pick and chose the parts you like, and disregard the things you don’t like. You are following your own ideologies and you are your own God. Jesus is not your Lord and Savior.

I want to be clear about that.

Go ahead and call yourself a Christian if that makes you feel better about yourself, but I’ll be the one to tell you that you are deceiving yourself and you have not surrendered to the Lordship of Christ.

Paul is saying to the church, when you heard these words, you treated them as the very words of God, and you allowed the word of God to work in you.

God’s word works within us.

God’s word is like looking into a mirror and it exposes us. It shows us the areas that are wrong. It leads us to change. It corrects us when we are wrong. It convicts us when we’ve departed from our first love.

Conclusion

Let me close with this… let’s look at what happened to the church that only had three weeks to hear and respond to the gospel.

1 Thessalonians 2:14–16 NIV

For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved.

Do you want to know how Paul knew that they had received God’s word?

They were willing to suffer.

The depth of our discipleship is evidenced in our ability to suffer.

I know that for some of you, when you hear that it doesn’t excite you.

And it really shouldn’t…

But you have to put suffering in its context. We are being deformed into the image of this world, and when you begin to follow Jesus there is a pull. There is a ripping away of a value system that often times is incongruent with God and His word. So there is a suffering there.

Then, you may be ostracized for your faith, and when you leave things behind, not if but when you do, it may feel like suffering.

And, there may come a time, when you face even more intense persecution.

Will you be willing to endure that?

Paul closes with this beautiful thought.

1 Thessalonians 2:19–20 NIV

For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

Church, we will all live again in the resurrection.

Those of us who have given our lives to Jesus will be reunited with all of the believers who have gone before us. This is the promise that we have,

And Paul is saying here to the church, we are going to be most proud of you! You, who with only 3 weeks of hearing the word, have devoted your lives to following Jesus. You who decided to go against the culture, take up your cross, and to suffer for Jesus.

We are so proud of you! We are cheering you on! We are so moved by your faith!

Call

Today, if you have never received Christ as your Lord and Savior, I’m going to give you the chance to do that.

Listen, tomorrow is not promised. We are dealing with waves of grief right now as a nation. There is so much loss coming in waves that we cannot even grieve properly. My question is, if tomorrow is not promised, and if you have not placed your life in God’s hands, what are you waiting for?

The Bible teaches us that today is the day of salvation. Today you can surrender your life to Christ, repent of your sins, receive Him as your Lord and Savior and you will live again.

If you would like to do that today, I want you to raise your hands and we are going to pray together.

[Salvation Prayer]

Now, your next step is water baptism! Sign up today. We will have water Baptisms next week, and you can come tomorrow night to learn more about baptism and to make sure that you feel ready and sure about this next step.