The Love of God that Transforms Us

Introduction

Thankful for opportunity

Time in St. Croix

Three points:

Jesus Christ died to save us from our sins

God the Father resurrected Jesus, so that those who put their faith in him have the assurance of eternal life

Jesus Christ is coming back soon to reign on the Earth and to judge both the living and the dead

Mission to Thessalonica in Acts 17

An Encounter with God

Saul is a Pharisee and zealous

He persecutes the church throws Christians in prison and may have even had them killed

Describe the conversion of Paul

Paul is entrusted and chosen with a mission from Jesus Christ. —>

Acts 9:15 ESV

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

Paul’s conversion was supernatural and miraculous —> God turned a murderous man who hated the followers of Jesus and made him the greatest apostle that ever lived. When we read the words of the New Testament you are reading the words of a man who committed horrifying things, but who was radically transformed by God.

But the call of God on Paul’s life is the same call of God on each of your lives —> “Go for you are a chosen instrument of mine to carry the name of Jesus”

The encounter that Paul had with God was dramatic —> But you do not need to wait for the heavens to open up —> We have been privileged to know Christ from an early age —> I am telling you that God has called each of you to be his chosen instrument to go into the mission field.

But it starts with meeting God. It doesn’t have to be with blinding lights, don't have to wait for God to save you from a life of sin and wandering from God —> Meet him in your room, as you open the Bible, as you sit and pray

Acts 9:17 ESV

So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Be filled with the Holy Spirit, be empowered by God.

Two missionaries:

Count Nikolaus von-Zinzendorf:

He was born into a noble family. The 22nd generation of one of the leading families in Europe. A representative for Kings. His parents were pious Christians.

“the young count grew up in an atmosphere bathed in prayer, Bible reading, and hymn singing. He penned love letters to Jesus in childlike sincerity, releasing them like innocent prayers from his castle tower to the courtyard below.

One day when when their castle was attacked by Swedish forces, they came into take suppliers from the castle.

They burst into the room where the six-year-old count knelt in daily devotions. In Count Zinzendorf, author John Weinlick described the scene: “They almost forgot their mission, so awed were they as they heard the boy speak and pray.

Use What You Have

Acts 17:2–3 ESV

And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”

Paul in his second missionary journey goes to preach in the city of Thessalonica

Thessalonica was a city in Greece. The culture valued rhetoric and oration, which means that they liked listening to speeches and having debates.

He approaches his own people, the Jews in the Synagogues

Paul built upon the foundations that the Jews already had to reveal to them that the Messiah that they were waiting for was in fact Jesus. He explains to them the prophecies and shows them how Jesus Christ fulfills all the prophecies in the Old Testament.

Two important things that he did:

Knew the Word

He used the skills that he had

Pick it up and preach

Example of the Lion King —> Mufasa sacrifices his life to save his son, Simba. In the same way Jesus Christ

Paul uses his skills and his learning as a Pharisee and as a teacher of the Law to reason with them.

Paul surrendered his skills and his talents to the Holy Spirit and God used that to draw the people of Thessalonica to himself.

Surrender your talents and skills to the Holy Spirit, he will multiply your effort.

What skills and talents do you have?

Maybe you do not think that they can be used in the kingdom of God.

Example of Balloon Ministry

God says give me what you have and I will multiply it. Just like the young boy with the loaves and the fish. He did not hold it back from God, but he gave it to Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 2:3–4 “For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.”

Do not wait for others to bring this good news. You have been entrusted with the gospel. God can use you!

You may be limited in skills, you may be limited in knowledge but in our weakness God gives strength.

When you go to school, when you go to your clubs or sports leagues. Say a small prayer to God and let him know —> Lord use these skills, use it for your glory, give me the opportunity to tell other people about the Jesus who loves them.

It is his Holy Spirit that works in us. He will give you the power, and he will convict hearts and minds. We must merely be available.

1 Thessalonians 1:4–5 “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.”

Count Nikolaus von-Zinzendorf

What did he have? He had land and he had riches.

When Protestants were being persecuted he allowed hundred and thousands of them to come and live on his land where he offered them protection.

They named this community Herrnhut which means “The Lords Watch”

After some disagreements between the people living there, the Count decided to go visit each house and personally speak to them, minister and encourage them to live in unity.

On May 12, 1727 they started a prayer. On August 13th a revival broke out, who some historians describe as almost a Pentecostal experience. On August 27th, 50 people decided that they would spend on hour in prayer. The prayer watch was unlike any other in Christian history. It continued, unbroken for over a century.

The Core of the Gospel

The Message of the Gospel is simple Acts 17:2–3 “And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.””

The power of the gospel is in the person of the gospel —> Jesus Christ

We are not primarily calling people to live better lives. We don’t want to tell them to be good people like us. Don’t just say you should come to my church, there are lots of nice people here. We have picnics and youth breakfasts and play basketball on Sundays.

Those things are all good —> But primarily we are calling them to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and their Lord.

Why because Jesus Christ is God and only in him is there salvation.

The Jesus that we worship is the Christ the Son of God. He will be there for:

the broken hearted

the person who is lonely

your friend going through family troubles at home

the ones that are battling sickness, anxieties, depression

Where do we see Paul peaching this?

1 Thessalonians 1:3 “remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” —> In Jesus is our steadfast hope

1 Thessalonians 1:10 “and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” —> Jesus delivers us from the wrath to come

1 Thessalonians 2:13 “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.” —> Only Jesus Christ can transform hearts and minds

No ministry, no mission, no missionary can provide hope, none can deliver from wrath, and none can transform hearts and minds. It is only Jesus!

Will you preach Jesus?

Mark 8:38 “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.””

There is Another King

The ministry of Paul and Silas start to have an effect and people believe in Christ. Who believes?

Acts 17:4 “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 there is also an enemy at work and he starts to notice.

Acts 17:5–7 “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.””

Here we see some Jews and how do they react? They are jealous.

What was the gospel that Jesus and the disciples preached? “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at Hand.” —> there is another Kingdom and there is another King. This is the ultimate Kingdom and the Ultimate King.

The message of the gospel shifts allegiances. We preach Christ as King, and all others must bow to his authority:

political ideologies

societal norms

worldly pleasures

the comforts of this world

sinful addictions

These “kings” won’t give up without a fight!

The enemy wants to keep certain places and certain people under his bondage. When we take a decision to follow Jesus and listen to his command to go and preach the word. The enemy tries to stop you, the enemy tries to discourage you.

How might he try to discourage you?

You do not know enough about the Bible.

You are not a good enough Christian.

Maybe someone else will do it.

Only the pastors, chachan’s and chechi’s, Sunday School teachers are called to preach the gospel

I do not have the time to do this

Our fight is not against people, it is against the powers and principalities of the spiritual realm.

Preaching the gospel to the barber —> Enemy tries to keep him chained.

The Thessalonian Church would go on to suffer persecution and trials even after this.

1 Thessalonians 2:1–2 “For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.”

What is he talking about here?

Acts 16 tells us of what happened to Paul in Philippi. Do you guys remember the story?

Even after being stripped of their clothes, beaten with rods and thrown in prison —> Paul says that despite all this he came to Thessalonica and preached God with boldness.

It is the God the Father that builds the church, Jesus Christ is the foundation, and the Holy Spirit empowers us to face any test or trial.

Will you commit to pray for and support those on the front lines of the spiritual battle?

We must support our brothers and sisters around the world paying the cost to tell the good news of another King in prayer.

We must advocate for them through political means, strengthen them in prayer, and lament for their suffering. 

Sacrifice for the Kingdom

Acts 17:9 “And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.”

What happened to Jason? They dragged him before the city authorities and made him pay money for bringing Paul and Silas to Thessalonica. But if we had to ask Jason, I think he would say: It was so worth it.

What does Paul and Silas do? 1 Thessalonians 2:9 “For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.”

They worked 6 days and making tents, and then on the Sabbath they preached.

Why would they do this? What is the source of this sacrifice? It is the love of God that they had for the people in the Thessalonica.

Notice how Paul speaks of them 1 Thessalonians 2:7–8 “But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”

When we encounter Jesus, when we spend time in his presence we start to love like Jesus does. The people that are unlovable, the people that are not friendly, or may treat us wrong —> the love of Jesus overflows in our hearts.

This love also calls us to sacrifice.

Count Zinzendorf

The prayer was the first step out of this encounter with God —> he would give them a chance to participate in the work of the gospel

A slave who worked on the plantations in the West Indies was drawn to Christ and longed for a deeper understanding of the gospel. His master took him from the Island of St. Thomas and bought him to Switzerland. He believed and was baptized and given the name Anthony Ulrich.

Having come to the saving knowledge of Christ, his soul immediately yearned to share the news with his sister, who was left behind in Saint Thomas, enslaved on the plantations. God heard Anthony’s heart cry and had already begun His plan to redeem the island.

Zinzendorf met Anthony, who told him about all the slaves who did not know Jesus. He cried out, “Oh, that someone would go to preach the Gospel to my sister in bondage on St. Thomas”

Zinzendorf came back and told the people of Herrnhut about the need and two people (Johann Dober and David Nitschmann) stepped up to take the gospel to them.

But It was impossible to reach the exploited people, Anthony said, unless someone became a slave himself because their unceasing and exhausting labors left no opportunity to hear the Gospel except when they were at work. “Then,” Nitschmann responded, “we shall work as slaves among the slaves.”

They sold themselves into slavery so that they could reach the salves. As the ship left the shore, they called out to those on the shore —> “May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering!”

As Dober and Nitschmann stepped ashore in the West Indies, they opened a new chapter in the history of modern Christianity. They were the founders of Christian work among the slaves. The Moravians labored for fifty years in the West Indies without aid from any other religious denomination. They established churches in Saint Thomas, Saint Croix, Saint John’s, Saint Kitts, Jamaica, Antigua, and Barbados. They baptized 13,000 converts before a missionary from any other church arrived on the scene.

Application

What would you sacrifice to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the world? To your friends?

Would you sacrifice some birthday or allowance money to support a missionary?

Would you sacrifice a meal to pray for the mission fields?

Would you sacrifice a Saturday morning to handout tracts?

The world understands the worth of the gospel by what you are willing to sacrifice for it.