Perseverance: Not My Words but Thine
Perseverance • Sermon • Submitted
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As we enter the week of Thanksgiving, I am reminded of many things to which I should be thankful. As I am thankful for you as we have embarked together in this journey of life. I am thankful for the very breath of life each of us can take just now to enjoy this very moment. I think it is imperative that we should be thankful everyday instead just making that emphasis during this time of the year. In fact, long before the Pilgrims sailed across the Atlantic on the Mayflower, we see from ancient Greece the need and emphasis placed on thanksgiving. It is no coincidence that on this Sunday before the American holiday set aside for giving thanks, that our scripture for today reminds us of the importance of being thankful. It is found in 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16:
13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. 14 For you, brothers, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, 15 who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to all men 16 in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.
Three different reasons to be thankful are mentioned in this text: we are given the example of being thankful for the word of God, being thankful for the church of God, and being thankful for the mercy of God.
Thankful for the Word of God
Thankful for the Word of God
I am so thankful for the word of God. Verse 13 indicates that the word of God was received. We are going to talk more about that in a minute, but we must realize that before the word of God can be received, it must be given. The word of God is more than just a conglomeration of human words. It is instruction, inspiration and the very intellect of God given to us so that we may live according to His glorious design.
23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,
“All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord stands forever.”
And this is the word that was preached to you.
I am so thankful that I had the word of God preached to me. I am thankful for preachers like Dr. Russell T. Cherry, Reverend Bill Kimberlin, Dr. Billy Mobley, Dr. Frank Campbell, Reverend Tommie Smith Davis, Reverend Sue Fitzgerald, Reverend Marie Bean, Reverend William Wease, Dr. Jack Causey and a host of others who preached the word of God to me. I hope if you are able, you can thank the men and women who have preached the word of God to you. If it were not for these men and women that were faithful to give me the word of God, I certainly would not be where I am today. As great as these preachers and ministers were in my life, I am reminded of the fact and the very nature of any gift that it does not fulfill its value unless it is received. I am sure that every sermon I have ever sat through was not received. Mainly because I did not want or choose to receive it.
21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
I have learned over the years that I need receive that word that has been given to me. I have also learned with what is freely given to me and I have received, I need to become a conduit and let it flow through me and be shared with others. This principle is shared in a couple of different passages.
6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.
10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
If I have been given the word of God, and have received it, they I am compelled to share it. It also benefits me to do so!
25 A generous man will prosper;
he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
However, it does not stop there. The word of God given, received and shared initiates a response. 1 Thessalonians 2:13
13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.
Did you hear that last phrase, “Which is at work in your who believe?” When we carry out the word of God, we are going to then see how the word works in our hearts and minds and how it leads us to obey God. When we are obeying God, we are doing the work of the church.
Thankful for the Church of God
Thankful for the Church of God
Aren’t you thankful for the work of the church? The Greek word for church is eklelesia. It means a gathering of people out from their homes into a public gathering place. The church was initiated to be a place of evangelism, fellowship, discipleship, missions and ministry. We strive to have every component of our church be part of these initiatives. It is derived from the Great Commission that Jesus gave His disciples as we have in Matthew 28:18-20
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
It is part of the reaching, teaching, and preaching that is commanded there.
We see in our text today that Paul and his companions are telling the Thessalonians they have become imitators of the churches. This is similar to what we previously studied in 1 Thessalonians 1:6:
6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
The work that is mentioned is not just for individuals to be modeled but for churches to do so as well. Great models of churches were given to the Thessalonians as are to us today. The church is not an organization but rather an organism that is designed by God to build His kingdom on earth. Ephesians 4:11-13
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
We see in our text that part of that imitating would be going through times that are tough. The churches in Judea that are mentioned underwent many turbulent times. We are going through turbulent times ourselves due the fact that our world is recovering from a global pandemic. However, as we go forward, we must be reminded of what has happened historically behind us. There have always been turbulent times, but the church has always overcome.
Jesus told Peter that the church would prevail!
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
Listen dear church family, the church illustrated here and throughout scripture shows that we will be triumphant. We will overcome! There will always be an opposition to the things of God and the word of God. There may be times of persecution, frustration, and discouragement, but the Church of Jesus Christ will overcome. We must be thankful for the word of God and we must be thankful for the church of God. However, most of all, I am thankful for the mercy of God.
Thankful for the Mercy of God
Thankful for the Mercy of God
14 For you, brothers, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, 15 who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to all men 16 in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.
God chose to give mercy in spite of causing suffering. I am reminded of that great verse, Romans 5:8
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
In the midst of all we have done and how we have fallen short of God’s glory, God has given us His great mercy. In spite of humanity displeasing God, we are still given great mercy. Ephesians 2:4-5
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
In spite of being a hostile people, God has given us great mercy.
21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
In spite of us continuing to be sinful people, heaping up sin upon sin, God still gives us mercy.
20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
I am in awe that the God who created all things, that made you and I, that demands holiness because He is holy, gives us His mercy instead of His wrath.
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
Listen church, the point is this: God does not sit around waiting for us to mess up so He can zap us into oblivion. Rather, God is saying look to my Son who was made a mess for your messes to be cleaned. We are shown this throughout His word and we should be thankful. We can show this in our world through His church and we should be thankful. But most of all church, we need to be thankful for His rich, rich mercy! Are you? Then let’s live like it!