The Word of God at Work

The Word of God at Work Uncommon Sense: Week 6 Tuesday, October 23, 2018 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 In a 1999 interview with Playboy Magazine, Gov. Jesse Ventura of Minnesota has said “religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers,'' When he said that, it was roundly criticized by people in politics and in the media—so much so that he tried to “explain” that he was only trying to be provocative during the interview. However, we are living in a time when his statement would be largely accepted by people as common sense in today’s culture. So that makes the message of our text uncommon sense because we will learn that those who believe the Word of God will joyfully endure opposition as followers of God. 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16 13 For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe. 14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews, 15 who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men, 16 hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved; with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them to the utmost. We are almost through the first two chapters of Paul’s first letter to the church at Thessalonica and one thing we’ve learned is that Paul was constantly thankful to God for those believers. You see, When Paul went to Thessalonica, he came to a very secular, very pagan, and very strategic city. He went into a city where very few, if any had ever heard the gospel. But God used Paul’s preaching and teaching to lead many people to follow Jesus. Acts 17:1–4 1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. Not long after Paul established the church, he and his church-planting team were forced to leave the city because a group of angry Jews formed a mob and turned many of the people in the city against them. A while later, Paul sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to help them continue to grow in their faith. When Paul heard that they continued to grow, and they were still following Jesus, Paul wrote: 1 Thessalonians 1:2–3 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. So, the first time he wrote he was thankful for them was because of their work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness in the hope of Jesus Christ. Just a few minutes ago we read for the second time that Paul was continually thankful for this group of believers—this time he mentioned how they received the Word of God and how they endured opposition and persecution. Now, if you’ve been with us through this entire study so far, you know that the believers in Thessalonica were the real deal. They were not playing church. They were not pretending to be something other than what they really were. They were not saying one thing while doing something else. This group of brothers and sisters were authentic followers of Jesus Christ. I believe the text we are going to study today shows us the reason for their faith and the result of their faith. For them, their journey of faith began when they received the Word of God. Paul was thankful that when he entered the city and began to preach and teach the Word, these people were open and receptive to listening to the Word. In other words, they didn’t treat Paul and his team like we treat the Kirby salesman who knocks on the door and interrupts dinner. You know what I’m talking about—when you hear a knock on the door and you answer it, only to find someone peddling something that you don’t need or aren’t interested in, what do you do in those situations? You might, stand there for a few minutes, just to be polite—but are you REALLY listening to anything that person is saying? Or, are you creating your exit strategy? I bet most of us in that situation are only thinking about how we can get away from the pitch. Well, because a major road system went through Thessalonica, people from across the region would come to town. This means that the city attracted all sorts of philosophers and religious teachers who would come to share their wisdom and religious views. I’m sure you can imagine that the people who lived in Thessalonica had heard so many things that it would have been easy for them to not listen to anything Paul had to say. But that isn’t what happened. Instead of shutting them out, or ignoring them, they received the word of God. Not only did they receive it, but they welcomed it—they embraced it because they did not believe that they were hearing just another message from just another man who came into town just gather a following and enrich himself. No, they were convinced that the message they were hearing from Paul was really the Word of God. Do you remember the time you heard the Word of God and you knew it was something different than anything you had ever heard before? Maybe you’re like me and you grew up in church—and maybe you heard Bible lessons in Sunday School, and Bible preaching on Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and on Wednesday night. I bet you could even quote dozens of Bible verses or win a round of Bible trivia. But one day the same message you had heard so many times before sounded different to you. One day you knew the message was for you and the only way you could experience life with God was by accepting the Word of God as truth and believing it for salvation. Perhaps your story didn’t begin when you were a child—you didn’t hear the Word until you were an adult. Yes, you knew that Christmas was the celebration of Jesus’ birthday and Easter was the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection—but those were just religious stories to you and church was only something you endured for a couple hours every year. But one day you heard the gospel and something in you told you that what you were hearing was true—and for the first time you accepted the Word of God as a message from God and you believed that God loved you and Jesus died in your place, as your substitute, and that forgiveness from sin, salvation from judgement, and everlasting life was only possible by trusting Jesus alone. You see, when you received the Word of God and accepted it as the message of salvation from God you believed the Word of God and you were saved by the grace of God. Romans 10:17 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. This is exactly what happened to the believers at Thessalonica—their faith came by hearing the Word of God and accepting it as the message of salvation. You see, they were saved the same way people are being saved today. Let me just pause here to ask you to do what they did when they heard what you’re hearing—accept the Word of God as a message of God for salvation for you. I know there are many people today who tell us that the Word of God is not reliable or trustworthy. I know there are those who tell us that the Bible cannot be the foundation of our faith. I know there are people who say there is no truth—and the Bible is nothing more than religious stories written by men to control people. When it comes to God’s Word, there have always been skeptics who have lived and died—but the Word of God remains. You can choose to view the Bible as another religious book, or you can receive the Bible as the Word of God, lovingly given so you can know God and you can know how to be with God. So here is my encouragement to anyone who is on the fence today—choose to believe. You’re not here today by accident. God has kindly directed your course and brought you to this place on this day to receive this message, so you can hear, embrace, and believe His Word. Why? Because God wants to give you your best life now? Because God wants to take away the prospect of suffering to give you a life that is easy and pain-free? No—that is not the Christian message. The Christian message is that God wants you to believe because He loves you and He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. This is what God wants for you today---which also happens to be what God wanted for the people in Thessalonica nearly 2,000 years ago. When they heard they believed—the word of God was the reason their faith Because they received the Word of God, their journey of faith brought suffering as they lived for God. Do you see what happened after they accepted and believed the Word? Paul said the Word of God “is at work in you who believe.” Up to this point, Paul was talking about their conversion in the past-tense. But in this phrase, he was pointing out what was happening in them in the present tense. In other words, they had been saved—but they are being changed. The Word of God was working at that moment in their lives. The word “working” means that the Word was effective and productive in bringing about a supernatural change or a divine reality in their lives. In other words, the Word of God was bringing them to maturity, it was counseling them, it was building them up, it was giving them confidence, it was giving them continued hope in Jesus Christ. The Thessalonians were progressing spiritually because they believed the Word of God and the message of the Cross and their belief affected their lives in a powerful way. Now, I wish I could point to the rest of the verses in this paragraph and show you how nice and simple their lives became after believing—but that was not the reality of their situation. Their belief in the Word of God did not prepare them to enjoy an easy life—it prepared them to endure a difficult life. In these verses we can see the result of their faith. Paul said that they were imitating the churches of God that are in Judea—but the next phrase tells us in what way they were imitating those believers. You see, the churches in Judea suffered great persecution—persecution that was, at one time, encouraged by a man named Saul who later changed his name to Paul and became the apostle who spread the gospel that he once hated throughout the known world. So, those early Jewish believers suffered at the hands of their own people—Jews persecuting Jews who believed that Jesus was the Messiah. In Thessalonica, these believers were suffering at the hands of their own countrymen. We don’t know exactly what was happening—but we do know that they remained faithful through their suffering. This is what true faith in Jesus does for us—it helps us endure when we experience suffering in this life. Why? Because those who have a saving faith believe the Word of God which tells us that suffering is to be expected because we follow Jesus. Peter put it like this… 1 Peter 4:12 12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. Paul told Timothy… 2 Timothy 3:12 12Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, Listen to what Jesus said… John 15:18, 20 18“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. Suffering for Jesus and suffering as servants of Jesus are to be expected in this life—and it has been the norm of the Christian experience for the better part of 2,000 years. Persecution against Christians continues around the globe—the people of God have never had it easy and God never promised it would be easy. But He did promise that our suffering would be valuable to our Spiritual development and growth. Romans 5:3–5 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. James 1:2–4 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Can I say something—a lot of times people justify thinking that God is evil because He allows people—specifically believers to suffer. They think that God is a moral monster because people who believe experience pain in this life. The only way that line of thinking would be correct is if God promised that we would get through this life unscathed—but God made no such promise. In fact, God—through His word and by the example of others has told us plainly that we can expect pain in this life. So, God is not bad or immoral by allowing suffering because God never promised that you wouldn’t suffer. But He did promise to be with you through your suffering. And He did promise to bring you through your suffering. And He did promise that your suffering is not pointless and meaningless. Those are the promises that we anchor ourselves to during tribulation—that God, through His Word is at work in us and our endurance is the result of our faith. So, Paul was constantly thankful that they endured in spite of persecution as a result of their faith. Now, how does this text affect your life? Let me give you three things before our time is over today. 1. Let the Word of God Do Its Work in Your Life – vs. 13 If you are a believer, understand that God wants to continue to do a work in your life—but His work does not operate independently of His Word. What does this mean? It means you need to read the Word of God and as you read the Word, believe it and meditate on the Word. As you do this, the truth of the Word will begin to affect your thoughts, your emotions, your desires, your relationships, and every other area of your life. It means you need to listen to the Word of God. God uses humans to deliver His Word. In the Old Testament a man named Ezra went to the center of Jerusalem and opened the scrolls and began to read and explain the Word of God to the people who had gathered to listen. The result of Ezra’s exposition was a sweeping and dramatic revival among the people. This is the power of God’s Word when it is spoken and explained. This is why believers need to listen to the Word. I know there are a lot of mediums through which you can hear the Word. Christian radio, podcasts, YouTube, etc. But let me say that none of those were ever meant to replace the local church. God’s plan has always been to use the local church to make and develop followers of Jesus—those other things have their place—but we should never think that they are God’s plan for your spiritual growth. You need this church and you need this church as often as you can be here because you need to listen to the Word of God, so it can do its work in your life. 2. Follow the example of those who have been faithful to Christ – vs. 14 The believers in Thessalonica became imitators of the believers in Judea and by following their example, they remained steadfast and faithful to Christ while being persecuted. God has graciously brought people into our lives that have shown us how to remain faithful by their faithfulness. When you’re suffering for your faith, don’t look to those who have become silent or try to blend in with the crowd to avoid difficulty. Instead, look to those believers who joyfully endured or are right now enduring suffering for Jesus—and follow the example of those who have been faithful to Christ. I also think we can make a broader application to other areas of the Christian life… When you’re going through difficult times in your marriage, don’t look to those who have given up on marriage—but look to those who have persevered in marriage. Listen, every marriage is work and every married couple experience difficulty. If you’re struggling in marriage, follow the example of those who stay faithful to Christ and to each other. When you’re going through difficult times in parenting your children, don’t look to those who have given up and let their children do whatever they want just to keep the peace. Instead, look to faithful believers who have persevered in raising their children and follow their example as they follow Christ. 3. Keep a biblical perspective – vs. 14b-16 There are several things we can see in this text that help us maintain a biblical perspective. • You are not alone in suffering. Others before you have suffered the same things you are suffering. There is a strength and comfort knowing that there are others who know how we feel. There is strength and comfort in knowing that others have endured and remained faithful. You are not alone. • If you are being persecuted for your faith, realize who those people are and what they are doing. Paul pointed out that the Jews killed Jesus and the prophets and drove Paul and other believers out of Jerusalem and every other place Paul had gone to plant a church. What Paul said next is important—they are not pleasing to God and they oppose all mankind—why? Because they want to prevent others from hearing the message and being saved. The opposition you’re facing isn’t from people who are against you—it is from people who are against God and who desperately want to continually keep others from being saved. • Those who stand against God will be judged. Paul said they “fill up their sins” which literally means they heap up their sins to the limit—they just keep piling it on themselves. But God’s wrath has come upon them to the uttermost—to the extreme limit or to its fullest expression. Their judgment is spoken of as certain if they do not repent and believe. • This means our mission is urgent—we must tell others, in spite of persecution. And we must warn those who persecute us—we must have compassion and kindness and love toward those who cause us to suffer. I would love to see Jesse Ventura look at the people Paul was writing to and call them weak-minded. I would love to see Mr. Ventura stand face to face with believers who are about to be killed for their faith and call that faith a crutch. You see, the common sense is that believing God’s Word makes you weak—but we’ve seen today that the Word of God is at work and those who believe the Word of God will joyfully endure opposition as followers of God.