You Received the Word with Joy
Notes
Transcript
1 Paul, Silas and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace and peace to you.
2 We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
4 For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
In the midst of severe suffering
In the midst of severe suffering
The Thessalonians were going through hard times. But they started off on the right foot and learned the difficult but inspiring path of obedience. They put in the effort to receive all that God had for them and the fruit was there for all to see. Even in the midst of great suffering....
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians The Gospel Comes to Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 1:1–5)
Faith is something you have to work at. It is not a ‘work’ in the sense of a ‘work of the law’ done to earn favour with God, but a work of love, done out of gratitude for grace. It means thinking the gospel through, and bringing our minds and wills into line with it. Love—which, as Paul will show later in the letter (4:9–12), is a very practical thing—also requires the kind of effort we associate with hard physical work. Hope needs patience, which is also demanding.
The Thessalonians had all three. Could the same be said for your church?
In the midst of a culture-splitting pandemic
In the midst of a culture-splitting pandemic
We are going through times that stretch us. Daily life is inconvenient. Information wars can make it confusing if you choose to listen to unvetted sources.
Many are trying to pretend the worst is over. But they just reopened a COVID unit in one nearby hospital due to the surge of cases. Every day this week there were over 100 new cases in our county alone. On Friday over 200 new cases were reported for the first time. On Saturday we once again topped 200 cases. Yes it’s been hard to not be with each other in the ways that we are used to and long for. But pretending is not getting us anywhere. It’s still a time to be cautious and careful. Show that you are pro-life by protecting those around you with a mask. How it ever became popular among Christians to not wear a mask is simply beyond me. You wear a seatbelt. You lock your doors and windows. You have a password to protect your computer or bank account. You wear gloves or a jacket when it’s cold out. These are the practical things we do to live wisely. They are not signs of spiritual weakness or a lack of faith. They are not signs of oppression. Masks protect the people you encounter indoors for any length of time and outdoors in close proximity. Period. In Asia people have worn them for years anytime they are sick. Since this deadly virus doesn’t give everyone symptoms and people can get it more than once, masks are an important annoyance we still need.
There is no need for 90% of the divisions in our country right now. Twitter and Facebook and YouTube are giving a platform to people who want to divide us. But it’s not just people with different views from you. It’s also people who hold your same views who are behaving badly. So there’s no room for anyone to be smug and say it’s all about one group with an agenda. Both ends of the political spectrum have behaved very badly and manipulated people. Plus the social media platforms themselves have behaved badly. They accept payment for ads designed to change people’s thinking. So the suggested videos or suggested posts for you to read are designed to change you or stress you so you will respond and they can get paid for new ads you see.
If it’s to change you from thinking like the world to thinking like the Lord, that’s one thing. But even then, it shouldn’t be done on the sly by invisible algorithms designed to sell ads.
So my point is this. If you find yourself very upset and thinking it’s all about the election, you have been the victim of manipulation. If you are losing your basic hope in the resurrection and second coming of Jesus Christ, then you have let yourself become distracted from the highest truth. If you dig your heels in and persist in these attitudes you might be resisting what the Lord is saying through the Scriptures. I promise you this: election day will come and go if the Lord doesn’t return before the first Tuesday in November. God will still be God. You will still be God’s child. The resurrection will still be your best option. Obedience to Christ who commanded us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us will still be your obligation. If you turn away from these high callings because you are disgusted with election results then you will be guilty of sin. Period!
“October 6, 1774
I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them
1. To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy
2. To speak no evil of the person they voted against, and
3. To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.”
― John Wesley, The Journal of John Wesley
This is how you follow your full Christian Conscience. Not just about your beliefs on issues. But most importantly about valuing your responsibilities before God above political advantage and your neighbor as a fellow human being rather than an enemy to be vanquished. Voting will never be more important than the bonds we share in Christ. Those bonds are not bound to one political party or another. Listen to God’s guidance in voting and don’t let anyone but the Holy Spirit bully you into voting one way or the other.
One time I went to the voting booth and I had in mind who I thought I might vote for in one category. But the closer I got in line the more I realized that it was mostly a vote against someone rather than for someone else. I began to feel convicted about it. By the time I got into the booth the feeling was strong that I could not vote for that person either. I was perplexed. It became clear my vote needed to be FOR someone I could believe in. I saw no viable options on the ballot, so for the first time in my life I wrote in a name manually in an electronic voting machine. It took a few minutes to scroll through all those letters and type in that name. I knew the candidate I chose probably would not win, but I had exercised my duty to vote without compromising what the Spirit was saying to me. I entered that booth in distress but I left it at peace.
The point is, just becomes times are trying, just because we feel pressure and concern, that doesn’t give us an excuse to simply vote on party or another. Being a Christian isn’t just about issues. It’s about how we carry our convictions. Don’t carry them like a grudge. It undermines your connection to God and strains your relationships.
The Thessalonians were stressed on every side but they didn’t forget to keep their focus on God. They didn’t compromise with wordly powers as a shortcut to blessings. The stood strong in love. Is that what we are doing? I pray that it is...
The Lord’s Message
The Lord’s Message
Because you see the message of the church was not the message of Rome. Rome said: its all about politics. It’s all about who’s in power. Rome said it’s us or them so we bulldoze them before they bulldoze us. Rome said Caesar is Lord. The Lord’s message was simple: Jesus is Lord. If Jesus is Lord, then Caesar is not.
In the gospel passage I preached on a few years ago over in Matthew 22:15-22, Jesus was asked about paying taxes to Caesar. The Pharisees were trying to trap him into an embarrassing statement that would compromise his spiritual commitments or get him in trouble with the authorities for treason. But Jesus did not fall into the trap. Instead he asked for a coin, ironically one of the Pharisees had one of the Roman coins in his pocket. He said, who’s image is this? They said, Caesar’s. He said give unto Caesar what it Ceasar’s. In other words pay your taxes. But give unto God what is God’s. In other words give God everything. God is who is really in charge. That doesn’t mean don’t be a good citizen. That doesn’t mean disrespect the president. But it does mean never let your citizenship interfere with your discipleship.
The Lord’s message is the good news of Jesus Christ. It’s not a political message. It’s not a legal message. It is a message of salvation and hope and healing and deliverance. It is about a kingdom that is underneath and around and above all kingdoms. It’s about a throne that is greater. EVERYONE on earth answers to the One who sits on that throne. Even kings and prime ministers and other earthly leaders.
This message announces good news to the poor and includes women and the lame and those cast aside by society. Do not lose track of this message even though we are living through a pandemic. Even though we have a tough election to decide. Even though you feel worn out and weary. Amen? There is one message for Christians: Jesus is Lord. Sin is defeated. Heaven is victorious. Earth will be restored. We are hear to usher in all who desire the love and forgiveness and holiness of God. We don’t have time for a politics of hate and division.
The Lord’s message rang out from you
The Lord’s message rang out from you
Paul could write to this church: The Lord’s message rang out from you! What a wonderful thing to write about a church under pressure. What rang out from them is the message of Jesus. This proves that they were also committed to the WAY of Jesus.
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
The WAY comes first on this list of Jesus. He is first of all a way of being. That is a way of love. Underneath that umbrella he is also the truth and the source of our lives. But you can’t really carry the truth of Jesus until you walk in the way of Jesus. That’s how the message rings out from you even under pressure and while dealing with grief. This comes from spending quiet time in the presence of Jesus in prayer. This comes from examining your life from top to bottom and letting God lead you forward in every area.
The way of Jesus involves sacrifice. If you give God your financial crumbs and leftovers you aren’t quite walking in the way of Jesus.
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
We are invited to give to God off the top. This is just one example of letting the message of the Lord ring out in your life. I know we could all move up in our sacrifice in areas of our lives. What a joy when we find fresh areas of life to put God first in ways we have lost track of. That’s how the message can be more than just words on our lips.
Receiving the Word with Joy
Receiving the Word with Joy
But the message cannot ring out in us unless we first receive that message. This is where it all begins. Receiving the Word with joy is again a wonderful thing for Paul to be able to say bout the Thessalonians. Receive the Word with Joy: Regardless of circumstance. It doesn’t become about winning because a lot is on the line. It becomes about opening our lives and being teachable and letting God lead us. Even letting God change some of our priorities from time to time. The Word is like a sharpened sword. It cuts through the biases we carry and challenges us to a commitment that does not fade.
We don’t have to make it all happen but we can keep from blocking God’s best in our lives. We can be responsive whenever God leads. We can read the Word. We can notice that it has a giant label on it saying: PLEASE SHARE.
16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
That’s receiving the Word with Joy. Letting it put down roots in you. Letting it shape and mold you until the message rings out in your life. People see Jesus in you. People see they don’t have to worry or fret about the future. People see you can be busy with the Kingdom of God every day. Even on election day you remember you are a citizen of Kingdom that will never fade. A kingdom that is made of more than wordly power and influence could ever be.
Folks leadership matters so choose prayerfully and carefully. But don’t lose your way when you are choosing. Don’t let your stress turn your neighbor into your enemy. Be peacemakers.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
It’s one way we can let the Lord’s message ring out in us every day. Let’s pray...