Remember to Always Rejoice, Request, Recognize

Introduction

Turn I Thessalonians 1. We’ll read verses 1-10.

We’ve been looking at the Sermon on the Mount.

Last week, we looked at 3 warnings from the Lord Jesus. He told us 3 negative consequences of not taking the Sermon on the Mount seriously.

They were sobering warnings. Basically, to ignore the Sermon or take it lightly is to choose failure in this life and the life to come!

But this week, we are going to turn our attention in a more positive direction. We are going to get a glimpse of a church that was living the Sermon on the Mount. We are going to see what it could look like for Metro Baptist Church if we do take the Sermon on the Mount seriously. And I hope this New Testament church will inspire us!

But also, this message will be very practical—a much-needed aid in our endeavour to live the Sermon on the Mount.

If you’ve been with us on Thursdays, I hope you’ve begun to see how difficult the Sermon on the Mount really is to live. I hope you’ve begun to see that it’s actually impossible to obey…that is, on your own, without the Holy Spirit’s help.

And my prayer is that God would bring each of us to the place where we...

Truly understood Who God is and what He expects

And get desperate for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Someone talked to me after Thursday night — “I’m just realizing more and more how much I need Him.”

AND THAT’S EXACTLY WHERE GOD WANTS TO BRING ALL OF US!

He wants to get us to the place where we actually believe John 15:5 “without me ye can do nothing.”

And so today, I want to briefly show you what our future looks like if we take the Sermon on the Mount seriously.

And then I want to show you a powerful & practical truth that will help us all be more in tune with the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.

A Church on Fire (I’ll explain what I mean by that terminology later)

Comment on chapter 1, noting how this church was living the Sermon on the Mount

“in our Lord Jesus Christ (the only way you can live out the Sermon), in the sight of God and our Father.”

“joy of the Holy Ghost” despite much affliction

If you read Acts 17, you find the origin of this church—born out of persecution.

“from you sounded out the word of the Lord” — salt and light

See notes in notebook.