1 Thess. 1:1-10

Good morning Anchor Point! It is good to be with you again.

If you have you Bible and I hope you do turn with me to 1 Thessalonians chapter one, verse 1-10.

As you turn there I want you to try imagine something with me.

Imagine our city and region, the Twin Ports. Now. Imagine no Christians. Imagine no one has ever heard the gospel.

Then one day two guys come come to our city, we’ll call them Paul and Silas. They tellTwin Portians of a man named Jesus Christ–his life, his cross, his burial, his resurrection and his appearing. And, any who profess faith in him will have their sin forgiven and peace with God.

Imagine now that your and many others believe this news with full conviction.

Imagine that you, or another Christian, are providing a place to stay for Paul and Silas while there in the Twin Ports. And you and all who believe are now imitating their manner of life.

Got that?

Now, other Twin Portians did not believe. In fact, they are so mad that they form a mob and riot and affliction against your and other Christians. They attacked your house, or that of the Christian, who are housing Paul and Silas. Life for you as a Christian could cost you your very life and entire well being.

The resistance becomes so intense that Paul and Silas have to leave the Twin Ports in the middle of the night. No one know where they went or if they would ever return. You no longer have access to your leaders. Imagine all this happening to you right here in the Twin Ports. Would you persevere?

And could you even ever imagine the ministry of the gospel flourishing under these circumstances? That though you it would have a bigger impact than you possibly imagine?

Now some month later a leader named Timothy, sent from Paul and Silas, come to the Twin Ports to check on you, to establish you and exhort you that you no be moved by your afflictions.

Finally some 6 months later an email… pops up in your and every Christian’s inbox. It is from Paul Silas and Timothy. And the church is gathering to read this email and have it explained. How eager would you be to go to to that gathering?

So you all gather together and you hear read these words....

Here’s what you read....

English Standard Version Chapter 1

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.

The Thessalonians’ Faith and Example

2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 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. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and 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 delivers us from the wrath to come.

My hunch it you would want to read this over and over, that it would be food for your soul.

Right away you read that Paul and Silas and Timothy give thanks to God for all of you. What might reading just that do for you? Then you notice that is not just a blanket statement with nothing behind it.

You see here that Paul, Silas and Timothy express their thanks to God by constantly mention you in their prayers...

2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers,

Wow they have not forgotten about us but are really really praying for us. If you you hear that your leaders are praying for you, how does that make you feel except loved, cared for.

Not just random prayer but constant. Prayer is what thankfulness to God produces. And to know that some is praying for you because they are thankful to God for you? I doubt it gets much more encouraging than that? One reason we will not pray for another Christian is because we are not thankful enough to God for them. Pic three people this week in the Anchor Point family and thank God for them… my hunch is you find yourself praying for them.

Think about all this from the perspective of Paul, Silas and Timothy. You have have invested Twin Portians. Some are now Christians. What response do you have except such thankfulness to God that you overflow into prayer for them?

Now as you read on you also discover you are remembered…

verse 3 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thankful to God for you, praying constantly for you and now remembering you. The encouragement keeps building doesn’t.

When we are thankful to God for another believer and we being to pray for them and something happens to our mind: we remember the work of God in their life. From a posture of genuine thanksgiving to God, have you ever had that experience in prayer for another believer?

They remembered their work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Faith, hope and love characterized the Thessalonians. With respect to faith, it had generated good works for one another. With respect to love it had generated labor for one another. With respect to hope it had generation steadfastness together.

The trifecta of faith, hope and love characterized the Thessalonians.

John Calvin did not exaggerate when he called this, “a brief definition of true Christianity”

Paul does not given them example. They were not necessary because he knew as did they.

and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Take note: The source of their perseverance was not some inner resolve or personal strength but no other that their hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. These people had strong evidence of faith in the midst of persecution.

Do not kid yourself, the object of a true Christian’s perseverance is not hope generated by your inner resolved or personal strength. No. No. No. The object of our perseverance is exclusively the Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe today you need to repent by turning away from hoping your inner resolve or personal strength will make you persevere. It won’t.

Every morning you wake up, don’t saying okay, I am going to do this things… instead, humble yourself and say Lord, my hope today is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. That is the Christian thing to do in the face of all forms of affliction.

Okay let press on into verse 4 which is a continuation of sustained thanksgiving mentioned back in verse 2.

In the email and now in the gathering you also hear this....

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you. What Paul is saying here is your faith, hope, and love are evidence of your salvation and all of that that is rooted not in yourself but in God’s election, His choosing you.

And how he, Silas and Timothy knows God has chosen you is because of how the the gospel had come to you.

–Verse 5… because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.

The gospel did not come to the Thessalonians by itself out of thin air. No. Paul, Silas, and Timothy brought it to them.

That how the gospel is brought to a person or a city, by a Christian. It is the only way. If you are a college student, if your campus is to be reach you much bring the gospel to it. The same is for Fredenberg, Two Harbors, Lakeside, Cloquet, Superior, your workplace and your neighbor. It will be brought only if you bring it.

When the last time you actually brought the news of the life, cross, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ to someone? New birth of person is the direct result of preaching the gospel. Period.

not just in word, but also in power, also in the Holy Spirit and also with full conviction.

How are we to understand this.

First, though it did not come with words only, it most certain did come with them. The gospel has specific content, words. Good needs are not the gospel. Being nice to someone is not the gospel. There is zero gospel message without words.

When spoken in human weakness the words need to be confirmed with divine power. The Holy Spirit must cause faith to spring forth. It is only by his power that the Word will penetrate a person’s mind, heart, conscience and will in a way that saves them.

That happen for the Thessalonians. When they heard it, it was not just words they heard; it was the power of God they heard for their salvation. It was the Holy Spirit they heard opening their ears to hear and hearts to receive it, not as just words but good new of great joy and great power.

So Paul’s is simply saying, hey Twin Portians, that is how the gospel came to you when you heard it from us. We are so thankful to God that that happened to you. That is how we know God has elected you.

The same thing happened to you when you became a Christian. You did not just hear words, you heard power, the Holy Spirt who made your dead heart beat for the first time. And behind all of that was God choosing you.

With full conviction here means that when your heard the gospel you had the full assurance that it was all true! It was your deep and full conviction.

Paul goes on at the end of verse 5.... and You know what kind of men we proved to be among you.

In other words, there was great harmony between Paul, Silas and Timothy’s character and their message. The Thessalonians themselves had testified to that fact.

The way you live is not separated from the message you tell. When you and I value and pursue everything the unsaved world does, people will say, there is zero difference between how you live and how I live. I see no evidence in your life that what you are telling me makes any difference. That should alarm you.

What difference in your life–your speech and conduct and values–would others say they see in you as a result of you being a Christians?

For the Thessalonians, they saw the difference it made in Paul, Silas and Timothy and that gave greater credibility to the gospel they preached to them.

Now you and other Christian Twin Portians read on...

and see that Paul Silas and timothy are convinced that God had chosen also because of the kind of people you yourselve have now become.

Look at it with me in verses 6-7.

And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

The Thessalonians had continued to imitate Paul, Silas and Timothy. As they saw Christ in them, they imitated Christ.This explains why Paul said, for example, the Corinthians “Be imitators of me, as I am an imitator of Christ.

The Thessalonians had been around the likes of Paul, Silas and Timothy evidently long enough that they began to mimic their lifestyle.

So, here’e the deal if you are really serious about imitating Christ you have no choice but to be intentional by seeking out and surrounding yourself with those who are more mature in the faith than you.

If you keep saying no, no, no, I am too busy you…listen you are saying a lot more than your think you are. The Thessalonian hung out with Paul, Silas and Timothy and the effect was they grow as imitators of Christ.

Paul tells them one way the Thessalonians imitated them....for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

In others smack dab in the middle of much affliction you believed the gospel. We were with you in that experience. The same Spirit who gave power to those who preached the gospel gave joy to you who received it. And we too have that joy.

Outward opposition though indeed painful does not completely unseat the joy the Holy Spirit provides. Affliction did not alter your commitment to the gospel. Your joy in the gospel, in God himself having chosen you eclipsed the troubles and persecution you endured and are enduring.

Now check this out....the effect of becoming imitators, is becoming examples. Pick it up in verse 7... 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

Here’s the point: in becoming imitators we ourselves become an example to imitate. And that creates impact! Impact for broader than you will ever fully know.

Now at this point in the letter, as a Twin Portians Christian, it is likely you would not have known the breadth of your influence and impact on others.

But hbe encouraged: a faith that works, a love that labors, and a steady hope in Jesus Christ will always have a far broader reach than you will ever fully know. You may want to be influencing one person and be totally aware at the 10 others you have. Find joy in that!

Example....restate the string.... keep stringing the string....

Verse 8-10 now provide how their example has impacted others.

1. verse8.... For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.

The Greek word for sounded forth occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It is the word echos, where the english word “echo” is derived.

Paul is saying, Hey Twin Portians, the word of the Lord echos across the land, over the hill, across the bring into Superior, north to Fredenberg, up the shore to Two Harbors, in Cloquet. On every college campus.

Notice it came from them which means they themselves were bring the gospel not only to their city but beyond it. What Paul says is, guess what guys.... it has gone farther than that, it has gone everywhere!

So we don’t have to tell you anything except keep on doing what you are doing! You are having a far broader impact than you know! Can you imagine how encouraging it would be to know that, to read that in that email?

Paul now tamps this down…

2. 9 For they themselves (they here refer to all those everywhere) report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and 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 delivers us from the wrath to come.

We would like tell others about what God is doing among your but everywhere we go, they are telling us! You now know that the idols you once thought could help you, are dead; God is living. You know know that the idols you once thought could save you, are false; God is true. And him you you have fullness of joy. You turned: That’s the word on the street.

You turned: you turned to wait for God’s Son to come from heaven—the Son God raised from death, who will save you from God’s coming wrath. Jesus Christ had already delivered them from the condemnation of their sins when he comes he will als deliver them from the wrath to come.

Listen, the wrath of God to come is greater than any affliction the Thessalonians or we as Twin Portians could ever experience. There may be an escape from affliction here on earth but there will be no escaping the endless wrath of God to come except through Jesus Christ. Because the Thessalonians know that they will be delivered from THAT, it reframes how they face their current affliction. Twin Portians, Northlanders, do we know that?

Imagine that right here in the Northland, a mob is formed and riot begins that creates affliction against you and other Christians so much so that our very live and entire well being is compromised.

Imagine if all happened would you even ever imagine that your ministry of the gospel would go way beyond what you could imagine. Would you persevere?

And could you even ever imagine the ministry of the gospel could flourish under such circumstances? Would faith, hope and love remain? Would we remember, we are chosen of God because of how the gospel came to us? Would we continue to bring it to others? Would we continue to be imitators so that we would also examples to others? Would the word of the Lord keep echoing across the northland from us, and keep serving the living and true God patiently waiting for the return of the King, Jesus Christ?