Sermon Tone Analysis

As we transition from I Thessalonians 1:1-5, where I think we begin to see the reasons why this particular local church was such a spiritually healthy local church, as we move on to the next paragraph we begin to see exactly what that particular local church was doing in practical ministry that enabled them to both grow spiritually and reproduce spiritually.

It is one thing to talk about motivation of ministry, or one’s mindset in ministry- but it is really helpful to be able to tangibly put your finger on a specific practice and say- this church was doing this practically and our church isn’t- and maybe this is why there is such a difference in outcomes between our two churches.

When we talk about the doing the Christ commanded task of the Great Commission a lot of the times we get really discouraged.

Why is that?

Why is it when a preacher gets up behind the pulpit and gives a message on actually doing the Great Commission that sometimes we leave really really discouraged?

We leave feeling really really guilty, we leave feeling like failures, we leave with little to no hope?

Why?

Part of the reason is the scope or the size of the task of the Great Commission.

It’s huge!

That’s is a monumental task!

We have to reach first and foremost our Jersualem (our local community), then we have to reach our Judaea/Samaria (state/country), then the uttermost parts of the earth!

So I have just taken the responsibility to reach 7 billion souls and dumped it on your shoulders.

And most of the time I never tell you how you are supposed to accomplish this monumental task- just that you need to be doing it.

So with little to no instruction on how, I just dump the combined weight of the souls of the whole world on your individual shoulders and what happens?

You walk away feeling discouraged, guilty, like you are a spiritual failure, and you have little to no hope.

Folks, can I just say- God never intended it to be this way.

God did not leave us hanging.

He actually gave us a way to do the task of the Great Commission in a way that makes sense- we have somehow overly complicated things.

Point-in-case: Matt 5.16

When we read Matt 5:16 what kind of light do you picture in your head?

More often than not we picture a light on top of a hill and it’s like a mega strobe light reaching out for miles and miles for the whole world to see.

When actually the light in Matt 5:16 is probably talking about a small oil lamp with a small flame that would be only big enough to light one small room with light.

God never meant to put the weight of the world on your shoulders.

You are not a giant strobe light- you are just a small oil lamp.

God never meant for you alone to reach to the uttermost parts of the earth.

God meant you for you to shine in your Jerusalem- in your neighborhood, through your local church, and that out of just reaching people where you are at- out of that God will reach your Judaea/Samaria and out of that God will reach the uttermost parts of the earth.

But it starts small.

It starts with just a little bit of joyful obedience to the imperatives of Scripture- and then out of that God does the rest.

OK, so what does that small start look like?

What specifically can we be doing to start accomplishing the Great Commission in our small church in our small community in small Oconomowoc WI?

Let’s start by asking the question what specific actions did the Thessalonians do that enabled them to be spiritually healthy?

And I’m telling you the actual process of implementing disciple making and thus accomplishing the Great Commission is profound- and yet it is simple.

What did the believers in the local church of Thessalonica do differently than we do in our church today?

I.

They became imitators of a spiritually mature believer- they Followed One (vv.

5b-6)

On thing that most or all of the believers in the church of Thessolonica did to become a spiritually healthy church was they personally imitated/followed the example of a spiritually mature believer.

They connected their life to another life with the purpose of spiritual growth.

6 Καὶ ὑμεῖς μιμηταὶ ἡμῶν ἐγενήθητε

And you also became imitators/mimickers of us

καὶ τοῦ κυρίου,

and of the Lord,

The key word is in v. 6- “Followers/imitators”

μιμητής- we get our English word mimic from the Greek.

It refers to a person who copies the words or behavior of another.

Paul states of these Thessalonian believers- you became mimickers of us.

Who is the us?

Paul, Silas, and Timothy- maybe more.

And through virtue of imitating these godly men, the Thessalonians also became imitators of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This was one of the keys to their success.

The whole church (you became- addressing all the believers in the church- c.f. v. 1), they all became mimickers of mature believers who were themselves following after Christ- and together they grew spiritually.

They became more and more like Christ.

Because they were mimicking each other, they were also mimicking Who?

The Lord!

So through this personal relationship of less mature believers imitating more mature believers they all became mimickers of the Lord.

Notice the context of how this took place-

End of v. 5

καθὼς οἴδατε οἷοι ἐγενήθημεν °1[ἐν] ὑμῖν διʼ ὑμᾶς.

Just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake

End of v. 4 Paul states- We know God’s choice of you.

How did Paul know that?

Because the gospel didn’t come to them in word only, but in power, in the Holy Spirit, and in full assurance.

That is what Paul and Silas and Timothy knew of the Thessalonians.

What did the Thessalonians know of them?

End of v. 5- “Just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you”

Verb “proved to be” is a to be verb- it is a condition verb- it means to enter or assume a certain state or condition.

What condition did Paul enter into the lives of the Thessalonians?

He became unto them a mature believer in Jesus.

And as we will find out he worked sided by side with the Thessalonians over a period of time, and the Thessalonians saw His example, and Paul proved/he became unto them a life filled with the power of the gospel and the moved by the Holy Spirit, Paul’s life became something they could mimic.

It took time- Paul had to live along side of them.

It took personal interaction- He had to prove what kind of man the gospel had made him to be, as he lived and spent his days with them.

How else did this imitating take place?

Middle of v. 6

And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction

Notice that this relationship of less mature believers following more mature believers involves receiving the Word of God.

“Having received the WORD in much affliction.”

Not only is Paul proving to be a follower of Christ by his example, but he is also alongside of that, communicating to them the Word- the Scriptures.

Like, this is the beauty of the simplicity of this.

What did the Thessalonians do differently in their local church that we are not doing that made them such a spiritually health church?

They studied the Word together on a person to person basis.

That’s it.

This isn’t rocket science.

Every life in that church was connect to another life, and they start mimicking each other and the Lord, and they started studying the Word together.

What if we started doing that?

What if the pastors of this church equipped you the saints with the tools to study the bible together.

And what if you connected your life with the life of someone else in this church and you started imitating Jesus together through the resource of the Word of God? Do you think that might encourage spiritual growth in your life?

But Pastor, they had the Apostle Paul! Wouldn’t you like that?

Wouldn’t it be great if we had Paul here to imitate and to learn from?

Well, it wasn’t an ideal situation for the Thessalonians either.

And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction

If you remember back to Acts 17 we know for sure that Paul spent at least 3 Sabbaths in Thessalonica- 3 weeks.

He may have spent more time there, we don’t know.

But you get the impression that Paul and Silas and Timothy don’t spend a whole lot of time in the city.

Because the Jews from the city rose up against Paul and he had to flee.

So Paul says you became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the Word, but it was in the context of much tribulation.

This is not an ideal situation.

But because the biblical model of disciple making was followed- where each believer became mimickers of more mature believers- even in the context of much tribulation spiritual growth took place.

We might not have Paul or Silas or Timothy- but I personally believe that if we just follow the biblical model of disciple making- if we would become imitators/followers- spiritual growth will take place.

Finally, how else did this imitating take place?

with joy of the Holy Ghost:

Why will spiritual growth take place in our local church if we are willing to obey the imperatives of Scripture?

There was nothing special about the believers in Thessalonica!

They were sinners just as much as we are sinners.