Balanced Encouragement: Week 2-Commitment

Joe Vivian

Balanced Encouragement • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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For this Sunday, please read the following scripture: ; ; ;

Our entire focus will be on Commitment. What it means to us individually. What it means to us spiritually. What it means to us as a body of Christ.

So ponder this question before Sunday, "How does my Commitment towards Christ manifest itself by my words and actions: towards my spouse, my family and those I encounter daily?"

Commitment: The act of pledging or engaging. A doing, an act with consequences.

Let’s begin by reading thru chapter 1 and then we’ll begin to reveal and apply God’s Word into our lives:

1 Thessalonians 1:1–10 CSB

1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy: To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace. 2 We always thank God for all of you, making mention of you constantly in our prayers. 3 We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work produced by faith, your labor motivated by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with full assurance. You know how we lived among you for your benefit, 6 and you yourselves became imitators of us and of the Lord when, in spite of severe persecution, you welcomed the message with joy from the Holy Spirit. 7 As a result, you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For the word of the Lord rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith in God has gone out. Therefore, we don’t need to say anything, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

Balance

has been wittily defined as “the brief moment of equilibrium we experience as we’re swinging from one extreme to another.”

I can’t think of many things more damaging to a believer’s spiritual growth and a church’s spiritual health than a lack of balance, or going to extremes.

It seems Christians and their congregations are constantly wavering between ornery pessimism and naïve idealism . . . dwelling stubbornly in the past or careening aimlessly into the future . . . idolizing their leaders to the point of worship or criticizing them to the point of rebellion.

Realism is the key to a balanced perspective when it comes to the Christian life and ministry.

And this balance is exactly what Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians provides.

Following the example of their founders and first teachers—Paul, Silas, and Timothy—the church in Thessalonica maintained an astonishing Christian witness without going to silly extremes.

How did they keep this balanced perspective on the past, present, and future?

By a constant commitment to a triad of balancing virtues: faith, love, and hope.

— 1:1-2 —

1 Thessalonians 1:1–2 CSB

Though we frequently—and rightly—refer to this book as Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, its opening words reveal corporate authorship: “Paul and Silvanus and Timothy” (1:1).

As we learned last week, Silas (referred to as Silvanus in this letter) took Barnabas’s place as Paul’s right-hand ministry partner after Barnabas and Paul parted ways over ministry strategies.

Remember, we’re told in that after the rather explosive confrontation between Barnabas and Paul, “Paul chose Silas and left” Antioch on what became known as the second missionary journey.

Clearly, Paul is portrayed as the pilot in this second journey, while Silas is his copilot.

So when we read that the letter to the Thessalonians is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy, we rightly regard it as a letter from Paul, the primary authority behind the letter, with Silas and Timothy as lending their assent and support of the letter.

All three of these men, though, enjoyed a close relationship with the believers in Thessalonica.

It must have been quite an encouragement to them to hear from all three men.

Notice what Paul says about the church. They were “in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” ().

Regardless of their earthly circumstances, “in God” and “in Christ” was their true identity.

They were safe in the hands of both Jesus and the Father.

That’s double security and a double encouragement for a church wondering if they had the right stuff to survive in the midst of social, religious, cultural, and even political conflict.

Paul’s standard salutation of “grace to you and peace” may have had special, concrete significance for the Thessalonians in light of the crises they faced.

Grace and Peace…

“What images or thoughts do those words invoke in you right now?”

The Thessolinican church needed grace to endure; they longed for peace that would alleviate the constant conflict.

Let’s admit this, if not out loud, then to our hearts.

We can’t wait to forget some people. Some people can be toxic, tearing us down instead of building us up.

We forgive; however, we try hard to forget them.

Some of us do a poorer job than others...we bury the hatchet, but leave the handle sticking up.

i.e. Social Media, Emotional Camps, Bitter Roots

Please remember this Biblical Truth: Forgive and “Choose Not To Remember”

But other people, we couldn’t forget if we tried.

They accept us for who we are; give us energy to go on; radiate authenticity; and support, encourage, and strengthen us.

Those are the people we long to be with. They don’t drain us emotionally, physically or Spiritually...instead they fill us up. When we think of them, a smile comes across our face.

That’s how it was for Paul with the Thessalonians.

Paul couldn’t keep them out of his mind. He constantly prayed for them (1:2).

Even after their brief, intense span of ministry all those months earlier, Paul remembered the Thessalonians with fondness.

— 1:3-5 —

1 Thessalonians 1:3–5 CSB

3 We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work produced by faith, your labor motivated by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with full assurance. You know how we lived among you for your benefit,

After thanking God for the Thessalonians, Paul remembered three fundamental qualities about them for which he was particularly grateful—qualities that could only come from the work of the Spirit in the lives of genuine believers: their “work of faith,” their “labor of love,” and their “steadfastness of hope” (1:3).

We often regard faith, love, and hope as invisible virtues, qualities of the heart invisible to those around us.

But in Paul’s mind faith resulted in work, love manifested itself in labor, and hope could be seen in the perseverance of those in whom it dwelled.

Faith resulting in work

Love displayed by their hands, their labor

Hope is in constant view to those around them by the way they persevere during trials.

Question:

“Which of these, Faith-Love-Hope, as we just read...is the one you find most comforting?” “Why?”

“Which of these do you wrestle with the most?” “Why?”

Ok, let’s continue….

How simply wonderful and refreshing it must have been for Paul to see the seeds of growth in this young church.

He had been whisked away from his mission field before he could be sure the seeds he had planted in Thessalonica had sprouted.

But Timothy had returned with an encouraging report that lifted Paul’s spirits.

Because of their evident faith, love, and hope, Paul and Silas were assured of the genuineness of the Thessalonians’ relationship with God—their status as beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, chosen by God (1:4).

The phrase “our gospel did not come to you in word only” reveals something of Paul’s teaching method.

He didn’t simply deliver a message and move on to the next evangelistic target.

The gospel for Paul wasn’t merely a carefully packaged cluster of words.

He didn’t just stand up in a crowd and shout, “Jesus came to die for your sins and rise from the dead. Believe in Him alone to be saved . . . Next!”

No, Paul didn’t simply deliver a message like a mailman delivers a letter.

Rather, the word came with power.

Paul entered their homes, their lives, their hearts.

The Holy Spirit brought full conviction

How do you take time to “enter” into someone’s heart to share the love of Christ?

No wonder the message didn’t simply enter the minds of the Thessalonians and warm their hearts.

No wonder it produced outward works of faith, love, and hope!

They had examples of living, active, powerful faith in Paul and his associates, who had embraced them, dwelling among them, pouring themselves into their lives.

— 1:6-8 —

Having thanked God for the Thessalonian believers (1:1-2) and having remembered them (1:3-5), Paul then affirmed them.

1 Thessalonians 1:6–8 CSB

6 and you yourselves became imitators of us and of the Lord when, in spite of severe persecution, you welcomed the message with joy from the Holy Spirit. 7 As a result, you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For the word of the Lord rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith in God has gone out. Therefore, we don’t need to say anything,

Having thanked God for the Thessalonian believers (1:1-2) and having remembered them (1:3-5), Paul then affirmed them.

To affirm means to...

Through his encouraging words he put his arm around their shoulders and praised the progress they had made since he was torn from their presence.

He affirmed them in two ways.

First, he affirmed them for the way they responded personally to Paul (1:6).

They imitated his spiritual walk and the Lord’s righteous example.

They welcomed the word of God with a joyful spirit even in the midst of affliction. What a miraculous reception of the gospel!

When they had everything to lose from the world’s perspective, they gave it all up for the sake of Christ.

Second, Paul affirmed them for the way they displayed their faith publicly (1:7-8).

They became examples to both Christians and non-Christians.

As Paul moved through Macedonia, where Thessalonica was located, southward into other cities of Achaia, he quickly learned that the news of the Thessalonians’ great faith had preceded him.

Imagine this... Their faith was so amazing that it echoed down the canyons, over the countryside, and into the city streets of the surrounding areas.

Their Christianity was contagious and spreading faster than Paul could travel!

Question:

“How contagious is your faith, love and hope being displayed and shared?”

— 1:9-10 —

1 Thessalonians 1:9–10 CSB

9 for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

From thanking, to remembering, to affirming, Paul finally relayed the reports that had been resounding far and wide.

I asked myself these questions...

What was it that Paul kept hearing about the Thessalonians everywhere he went?

What news of their faith was paving the way for Paul and his ministry partners to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others?

First, he heard about the relationship they had enjoyed with the great apostle and his colleagues—“what kind of a reception we had with you” (1:9).

The enthusiasm with which the Thessalonians had received the apostle was caught by others who became just as eager to hear what Paul, Silas, and Timothy had to say.

Second, Paul heard echoes of the report concerning the Thessalonians’ turning to God from idols, committing themselves to Christ alone (1:9).

Now the Thessalonians had two purposes for their lives: “to serve a living and true God” and “to wait for His Son from heaven.”

They displayed responsibility in the present yet readiness for the future.

They weren’t anticipating the Lord’s return so much that they neglected the present, and they weren’t becoming so involved in their earthly affairs that they forgot the future.

Instead, they balanced their past faith conversion and repentance from idolatry with their present pursuit of love and their embrace of the future hope of the return of Christ to save believers from the coming wrath that would one day be unleashed on the world (1:10).

You know what I see here in these first 10 verses?

I see both responsibility and readiness.

I see a group of people who took the truth to the lost and lived the truth among the saved.

And I see a readiness of people who knew that Christ could come at any moment to rescue them from judgment before unleashing His stored-up wrath on the world.

That’s balance—to live as though He could come before lunch but to behave in ways that acknowledge He could delay His return until long after we have lived.

The church in Thessalonica may not have had a lot of money, a large congregation, or famous teachers.

But they had strong faith.

They had active love.

They had abiding hope.

They had the right stuff.

They were Balanced!

APPLICATION:

A Three-Way Commitment

The opening verses of this compact, powerful letter challenge us to a three-way commitment—to the saved, to the unsaved, and to Christ.

Begin today practicing Balanced Encouragement

First, with regard to our commitment to fellow Christians, Paul’s words remind us that we must be ready to accept, support, and encourage one another in the family of God to excel in works of faith, in labor of love, and in perseverance of hope.

Second, regarding our commitment to non-Christians, Paul’s words inform us that we must live in such a way that our actions are evidence of the word of the living God for all those who are lost. The reputation of the Thessalonians went around to all near them and beyond them (1:8-10).

We need to be witnesses to the unsaved and carry the gospel by means of our reputations that match our verbal testimonies.

Did you catch that??? Both the words on our lips and the works of our lives need to bear witness to Christ.

Third, concerning our commitment to Christ, Paul’s words urge us to be free of any and all entanglements that pull us away from the Savior.

This is freedom from idolatry, which can be anything—a thought, a priority, an object, a philosophy, a career, a dream, or a person—anything that takes our full devotion away from Christ.

When we’re free from such idols, we’re freed to commit fully to Christ.

So what does this Commitment mean to us?

Turn to

Before we read,

I want us to really think about this:

Jesus commanded that our “Yes” be “Yes,” but more and more frequently, a Christian’s “Yes” really means “No.”

As you are turning to , let me read to you from Jesus’ teaching in .

Matthew 5:33–37 CSB

33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord. 34 But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, because it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. 36 Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one.

Matthew 5:

Every time we fail to follow-through on a commitment, show up late, don’t complete a project on time, or fail to keep our voicemail’s promise that we will “return your call as soon as possible,” we are disobeying Jesus’ command that our “Yes” be “Yes.”

In our new, fast paced life, we are saying “Yes” more than ever, while more and more frequently failing to keep our word.

The fact that this sin seems so innocuous should set off alarms within the Church.

Within each of us even more so.

We are images of God, representations of Jesus Christ to a lost world. To reflect our Savior well, we must be keepers of our word.

But how practically do we do this? It starts by having a system to effectively collect all of our commitments.

This could be as simple as a piece of paper or as complex as a digital task-management system found in the app store.

The tool is far less important than the process.

If we are to follow Jesus’ command that our “Yes” be “Yes,” we must have a way to keep track of everything we are saying “Yes” to. Sounds like common sense, right? It is! But sadly, so few people do this well. The good news is, this is a super simple problem to solve.

Sometime today, take 30 minutes to do a “mind-dump” of every commitment you have made to yourself, your friends, your spouse, your kids, your co-workers, etc.

Once your list is complete, look for commitments that you need to renegotiate or quickly close the loop on.

What are your irreducible minimums towards commitment?

For example, maybe you promised your grandmother that you would call her last week and you still haven’t made the call. Take 5 minutes to give granny a call and fulfill this commitment.

Let your “Yes” be “Yes” even if you’re delayed. I promise, once you go through this exercise and you’re confident that everything is out of your head, you will feel immense relief and peace.

Let’s look at it this way too:

Read

Luke 14:25–35 CSB

25 Now great crowds were traveling with him. So he turned and said to them: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 “For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, after he has laid the foundation and cannot finish it, all the onlookers will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man started to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ 31 “Or what king, going to war against another king, will not first sit down and decide if he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If not, while the other is still far off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple. 34 “Now, salt is good, but if salt should lose its taste, how will it be made salty? 35 It isn’t fit for the soil or for the manure pile; they throw it out. Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.”

So, let me ask you a question?

Are you listening?

Do you have ears to hear or are you going to tune me out, because you don’t feel you have a commitment problem.

Now, listen carefully as we tie this all together.

It pays to serve Jesus.

But pay close attention.

It costs to serve Jesus.

It costs every day.

It costs every step of the way.

If you’re looking for a cheap way, an easy way, a lazy way to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, you will not find it.

Salvation is free; discipleship costs.

Just ask the church at Thessalonica.

Salvation is free.

You cannot earn it.

Too many of us have made discipleship too easy. We want an air-conditioned, upholstered, streamlined, cushy faith, but you’ll not find such in the Bible.

Now, does that frighten you, does that scare you, does that bother you when I tell you that discipleship costs?

It shouldn’t because, listen, it costs, but it is well worth it.

Let me tell you something.

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of cheap price has been forgotten.

Did you catch that?

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of cheap price has been forgotten.

Have you ever bought anything on sale just because it was on sale, and after you got it you never really wanted it? Have you paid a dear price for something and loved it and been very grateful for it?

Now, here’s what was happening in the life of Jesus. Look in verse 25:

Now, the crowds were there. Jesus was at the zenith of His popularity. Great crowds were thronging after Jesus Christ, but do you know what Jesus did?

He thinned out the crowd.

He didn’t do some spectacular miracle to keep them coming.

He didn’t tell some whimsical stories.

He didn’t lower the standards.

But He turned to these crowds that were following Him, the throngs that were coming after Him, and He began to talk to them about discipleship.

Now, there’s no fine print in His contract.

When you come to Jesus, you need to come with eyes wide open.

When Jesus calls us to be His disciple, He’s calling us to something costly.

Garibaldi, who freed Italy from tyranny, got an army and, he went to recruit some young men, and they said to Garibaldi, said, “What do you offer?” He said, “Offer? I offer you hardship, hunger, rags, thirst, sleepless nights, foot sores, and long marches, privations innumerable, and victory in the noblest cause that ever asked you,” and they followed him.

What does Jesus offer you?

Jesus is offering you victory, but not ease and not laziness.

Remember the definition of Commitment:

Commitment: The act of pledging or engaging. A doing, an act with consequences.

So here’s our closing questions…

“Are you committed to Christ?”

If yes, then...

“How are you balancing your faith, love and hope in Christ?”

If no, then…

“What’s the hindrance, the idol that is keeping you from Him?”

2 Timothy 4:6–8 CSB

6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved his appearing.

2 Timothy 4:

Let’s pray...

“How are you balancing your faith, love and hope in Christ?”

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