Rev. David Holwick ZH
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
October 17, 1999
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
|
I. Where are we headed?
A. 1 Thessalonians written to a young church in a dangerous world.
1) Devastating war in Israel in twenty years.
2) We also live in dangerous times.
a) Dr. E. M. Blaiklock: "Of all the centuries, the
twentieth is most like the first."
B. Many sense an impending world crisis.
1) Troubles everywhere.
a) Stock market down 700 points this week.
b) Global warming, climate changes.
c) Hurricanes and earthquakes.
2) Meeting of international industrialists and thinkers
called the "Club of Rome."
a) Main proposal humanity must put into effect to survive:
"The survival of this planet necessitates new forms of
thinking that will lead to a fundamental revision
of human behavior, and, by implication, of the
entire fabric of present-day society."
b) This simply says that if we cannot discover how to
change people, there is no hope of saving the world.
C. Jesus is in the people-changing business.
1) This letter is to a group of people in Greece who had
discovered this.
a) Paul had only visited them for a short time in AD 48.
b) He had been driven from the local synagogue after only
three sabbaths of preaching.
c) Eventually he was hounded from the city.
2) About a year later he writes to them.
II. The trinity of grace.
A. Paul is thankful for their faith, their love, and their hope.
1) In NT, these are fundamental characteristics of Christians.
2) If you have true faith, if you have love that is inspired
by God, and if you have hope in the coming of Jesus,
then you will be motivated to live the right way.
B. This is the message of the whole letter, summed up here.
1) It also forms the framework of the first chapter.
III. Work produced by faith.
A. Genuine faith produces results. (cf. James 2:14-26)
1) Works shows the vitality of our faith.
2) Genuine faith always works. Gal 5:6
B. The ultimate work of faith - changed direction. 1:9
1) They went to God, from idols. Notice the direction.
a) Not leave idols, try to find God.
2) You discover God in the midst of idolatry, whatever
that idolatry has been for you.
"You discover something of the beauty, the glory and
greatness of God, and, seeing that and wanting it,
you are willing to forsake the cheap and tawdry things
you have been trying to satisfy yourselves with."
C. Our change begins before we even have faith - election.
1) It begins with God's loving of us. John 3:16
a) He sees us as victims.
b) We pursue those things that destroy us.
c) Unintended, we have messed up our lives.
2) God not only loves, he chooses us.
a) How can we tell if we have been chosen?
b) Growing spiritual desire, a longing to be changed.
c) The Father has to draw us. John 6:44
D. The steps of God's call. 1:4-5
1) The gospel has to be preached.
a) The Word of God and the simple stories of Jesus move
people toward God.
2) The power has to be unleashed.
a) The gospel is real, compelling, gripping.
3) It has to bring conviction.
a) The gospel moves the wills of the Thessalonians.
b) They yielded their lives to God.
1> Until you have received Jesus, you have not
exercised faith.
IV. Labor prompted by love.
A. Three signs of love at work: 1:5
1) It changed their attitude toward affliction and trouble.
a) They were under much pressure from hostile neighbors.
b) They stopped complaining and started rejoicing. 1:6
c) Troubles show us how God can sustain us.
2) They shared the gospel in their area.
a) No big rallies, just one-on-one.
b) "These men who have turned the world upside down,
have come to our city as well." Acts 17:6
3) Their faith became famous. 1:8
a) They trusted in God to take care of them, and he did.
Rev. Ray Stedman received a letter from two of his church's
missionaries in Guatemala, Ron and Gretchen Bruno.
Gretchen wrote of an incident that had encouraged her greatly.
A poor widow in one of the congregations in Guatemala was
down to her last twenty cents and without food.
She began to pray about her problem.
As she was praying, she felt a deep conviction that God was
telling her to go to the large supermarket in town.
She was to fill up several carts with groceries and take them
to checkout stand #7.
This was not just a vague feeling on her part but a deep,
Spirit-born conviction.
The widow went to the supermarket the next morning, loaded
enough groceries into carts to last two or three months,
and took them to checkout stand #7.
Just as she got there the cashier closed the stand to go out
to lunch.
The cashier suggested that the woman take her groceries to
another stand, but the woman said, "No, I cannot. My Father
told me to take these through checkout stand #7."
So she waited while the clerk went to lunch and came back again.
The clerk was surprised to see the woman still there, and
started to check out her groceries.
Just then an announcement came over the loudspeaker: "This is
our seventh year of business.
"We are pleased to announce that whoever is checking out at
checkout stand #7 gets free groceries."
#4986
V. Endurance inspired by hope.
A. The Thessalonians loved prophecy.
1) Each chapter of both books ends with a reference to return
of Jesus.
2) We look to first coming of Jesus. They looked to second.
3) Resurrection was their answer to the threat of death.
B. Jesus will do more than come back.
1) He rescues us from coming wrath.
a) Not hell, but Tribulation period.
2) No matter how bad things get, God can deliver us safely.
C. Because we have hope, we can endure.
1) It is aggressive and couragious Christian quality.
2) It excludes self-pity even during hard times.
3) If we are discouraged or defeated, we need to recall
the great promises of God.
VI. Is your faith famous?
A. Strive to be a model for others to follow.
B. Others need to hear before Jesus can return.
===========================================================================
Sermon is heavily dependent on a message by Rev. Ray C. Stedman,
"Changed Lives," #4089, Peninsula Bible Church, December 6, 1987.
===========================================================================
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
Created with the Freeware Edition of HelpNDoc: Full featured Help generator