Before we get into the sermon this morning, I want invite you all to join me for 40 DAYS of PRAYER We are starting it next Sunday, January 4th, and we’ll have printed materials and guidance on how to pray and what to pray for as a Church in our community Whether we’re gathered on Sundays or in other contexts throughout the week, we need to seek Him for His love and grace and leadership over our church Some of the things we’ll be focusing on are: Jesus’ will for our Church, and also His provision Our own roles and obedience to the Lord personally Asking for and developing the gifts He has given us to utilize in the Church We’re going to seek the Lord together in agreement as a Body And we want to be One - One Body with One Voice - so that our neighbors might come to know Him, as well I hope you’ll make this a priority for these 40 DAYS of prayer, which will put us almost up to the 8th Anniversary of Emmaus Road on February 19th 1 Thessalonians 1 A LABOR OF LOVE // INTRO I’ve been in full-time Christian ministry since 1997 when I joined a para-Church organization in Fayetteville, GA, where I lived The name of that organization was Worldwide Discipleship Association That was a mouthful, so we just called it WDA That ministry reassigned us to the University of Georgia *GO DAWGS!* and we spent almost 11 years there, serving the students on campus and evangelizing the lost While we labored there, we had children and some of them went to be with Jesus, but 3 of them lived Those were the days of being on campus, preaching open-air in the Tate Center Plaza I had a lot of preachers and pastors that I listened to back then, and Jen and I were both so hungry for the pure Word of God We listened (mostly to the radio!) to Ravi Zacharias, Mike Fubarez, and many pastors on CSN *the Calvary Satellite Network* (which still has sound teaching, unlike many pastors and churches who have apostatized since those days) But we listened day and night to great teaching verse by verse, which is where I began to develop my skills We served the campus of the University of GA for about 11 years During those years, WWJD was a thing - do any of you remember that Christian fad? How many of you remember the rubber bracelets? WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? It wasn’t a bad attempt at all when it came to sharing one’s faith I remember seeing them all over the place, and they were great conversation starters But listening to good preachers and pastors who were holding up God’s infallible Word was one of the things that really shaped us And we also wanted to know how to answer student’s questions about faith, so we began to engage with Apologetics Apologetics is the study and practice of giving answers for the reasonableness and truth of the Christian faith The word comes from the Greek “apologia” and means “to give a defense.” In 1 Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” Christians are commanded to give an apologia to anyone who asks about the reason for the hope that is within us So when we practice apologetics, we are training ourselves and others to be able to give a reasoned answer as to WHY we believe what we believe And this was (and still is) an important and persuasive way to engage those who have not considered Jesus previously, or those who might be wrestling with the claims of the Christian faith We’re going to see here that the first 3 chapters of this letter are more about Paul longing to visit this Church in Thessalonica, but not being able to because of the opposition of Satan He wanted to equip them and teach them so that would be strong in the new faith, and be able to share it with others And Paul cared about them, and wanted to know how they were doing, especially because they were being persecuted by their own countrymen And we are reminded (as we should be from time to time) that it is the blood of the martyrs that is the seed of the Church So with that in mind, let’s go to our text this morning… // TEXT & EXPOSITION [1] Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. This is the first letter from Paul the Apostle to the local church body in the city of Thessalonica It was written somewhere around AD 30 (ish) And one of the themes that emerges early on is the coming of Christ again Paul had enlisted the evagelistic help of Silvanus and young Timothy regarding his missions trip to this city Is it Thessalon-ICA? Or Thessa-LON-ica? I’ve heard good preachers and experts say it both ways I guess it’s just whatever you PRE-fer or pre-FER And Paul, in Jesus’ Name, extends the peace of the Lord to those who are Believers in Thessalonica Paul extends both GRACE and PEACE to his recipients Grace is simply God’s unmerited favor You can’t earn it - it is freely given to those who put their faith in Jesus And peace is freedom from disturbance or conflict And I’ll add that I think peace is slipping away from the world, quite steadily And when the Church is removed from the earth, there will be NO peace at all Praise God that we have the promise of Scripture that we will not be here for that season of history [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 Paul and Co. were thankful to God for all the Believers in that region And he was constantly praying for them, as well as other missionary teams in different places The Church was still very new and young, and there were many pitfalls to stumble into, not to mention that Satan was in a full-court press from Pentecost forward, trying to trip up and slow down the growth of Christ’s Church And those who had come to faith needed to be discipled, and to learn the Word of God This was what Paul had been praying for - the provision that would allow the new Christian converts to be able to meet, discuss, and learn the Word of God in the context of the local Body of Believers There was a steadfastness of hope that God granted them that held it all together And that blessing was straight from God Himself, for no mere Man could make that happen Faith, hope, and love…but the greatest of these is love because love covers over a multitude of sins! [4] For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, [5] because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. Ok, we have to deal with v4 because it can be confusing for some people Because of the theologically loaded terms that we deal with in the 21st Century, we have to be careful with this part of the text It is easy for some of our Reformed brothers and sisters to mistake the meaning of the texts when they see words like “CHOSEN” or even “LOVED”, having loaded these terms with their own theological leanings and interpretations So…does God know who will and will not be saved? Yes. God knows all things whatsoever come to pass And not only this, but He has known it in eternity past (which is a hard idea to conceptualize) And so, our Reformed brothers and sisters end up taking the position that God has already chosen (not just knows, but has chosen in eternity past) those whom He will save and redeem, and also those whom He will damn and cast into Hell And that doesn’t sound like its out in left field until you understand that on Calvinism/Reformed theology, God didn’t choose them or damn them because of the choices that God knew they would make No, according to their theology, He either chose them or damned them in eternity past purely arbitrarily And if their theology is right, then that means that no one is actually either choosing God or choosing to reject God, because on that system, God chose it for us in eternity past, and there is nothing that we mere mortals can do about it Now, to be very clear, I do not subscribe to that theology When I read the Word of God, that’s not what I see, and I want you to know that I work very hard to stay true to the actual text and the author’s intent And the intent of the Lord, from what I see in Scripture, is an open invitation to anyone who wants salvation Revelation 22:17 [17] The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. And when I read God’s Word, and see His mercy and goodness and grace, I can’t make Calvinism/Reformed Theology fit with what I see in the pages of Scripture And if you’re wrestling with that, in part or in whole, please reach out to me I’d love to get coffee and talk it through with you! [6] And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, [7] so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. I love this section of this letter because it takes me back to the days when we were still having babies (well, to be perfectly accurate, Jen was having the babies) It is almost a universal reality that parents lament the hardship of the season of having babies and toddlers, while longing for them to grow up and become (mostly) self-reliant But when they do grow up, they still need their parents, but it a different capacity And it is a great degradation when a young adult child does not seek the wisdom, insight and love of their own children I say that as someone who knows it all too well, from my own youthful bravado and “knowing everything” to middle age and experiencing loss But in all of - the good and the bad - Jesus is calling His children to engage, and to do our best to imitate the Lord That means being gracious when others make mistakes It means correcting our brothers and sisters when they’re wayward It means making time to sit and listen and pray when there is hardship or loss just as much as it means celebrating with the good, and being filled with joy at all times And by the way, the ONLY joy that makes that possible is the joy of the Lord Everything else is circumstantial [8] For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. Paul is excited and overjoyed that the Church at Thessalonica had gone out like a trumpet blast, not only in in the immediate vicinities, but to all the larger region It was the same everywhere that the disciples went, and their disciples after them, and on and on, marching forward, so that the World might know Even today, those ripples of the Gospel keep rolling around the planet, impacting individuals, families, and entire communities for the Kingdom of Jesus And it is a privilege to carry and share His message of Good News to all who will hear it And we know that not all will listen, but we proclaim it nevertheless You never know who is listening You never know how the hardest person in your life might respond in the moment You never know how many Gospel conversations it will take to soften the heart of one sinner So never give up Pray to the Lord of the harvest that you might not grow weary in doing well [9] For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and 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 delivers us from the wrath to come. The other regional churches had briefed Paul and Co. about the bonds that had so quickly been formed and the impact it had made The power of the Gospel had changed lives in Thessalonica People were turning away from idols to the One True and Living God, as they were forsaking their sin, and putting their faith in Jesus, the Messiah! And like the rest of us in THE Church, we are waiting for the Son to come again from heaven Jesus died and rose again So the question is, “How do we know that He WILL come again?” Well, He told us: In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. (John 14:2-3) 1 Thessalonians 4:15–18 [15] For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. [16] For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. [17] Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. [18] Therefore encourage one another with these words. And we’ll unpack that more when we get to chapter 4 But for now, we wait for the coming of the Son of Man to HARPAZO/Rapture the Church One of these days, every believer in Jesus will hear the Trumpet of the Lord being sounded Jesus is the One whom the Father raised from the dead Jesus is the one who rescues us from the wrath that is coming upon the earth! But our waiting is not passive! So we pour ourselves out in labors of love and works of faith, not to gain Jesus’ love, but because we already have it! And we will all stand before our Father in heaven He is the One who sent Jesus, our Lord, and Jesus is the One who calls us to works of faith and labors of love which are an overflow of the grace that has been given to us We are called to be imitators of God as we wait for our Lord’s returning to the earth // APPLICATION In this first chapter of 1 Thessalonians (a short letter, by the way), we see grace and peace abounding to those who are doing the work of the Kingdom And that does NOT mean that only those in full-time ministry receive God’s grace and peace They are for all who’ve put their faith in Him, to help with the hardship that ministry often brings They are always available at any time: grace and peace They don’t have to be charged up at a Tesla station to work effectually They’re ready to go at a moment’s notice The same is true with faith and love Again, they are available at any time and in any circumstance But here’s where the math comes in When LOVE results in WORKS of FAITH and in LABORS of LOVE, the result of that is STEADFAST HOPE, and that’s something that every born-again follower of Jesus Christ needs consistently, but especially now as the days grow dark (and I’m not talking about the sky, but the world we live in) But even in saying that, …the GREATEST of these is LOVE The Bible calls is it AGAPE It is God’s love for humanity It is a Greek word that refers to a pure, selfless, and unconditional love that is a choice, not out of obligation or result of attraction Agape is the highest form of love It is fully Unconditional Agape love is shown and given without considering how it will benefit the giver or what they will get in return, in any way, shape, or form It is 100% Sacrificial because it is a love that intentionally desires the highest good for others, and in Jesus’ case, at the expense of His perfectly-lived life! Here’s how the Apostle Paul put it… 1 Corinthians 13 [1] If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. [2] And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. [3] If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. [4] Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant [5] or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; [6] it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. [7] Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. [8] Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. [9] For we know in part and we prophesy in part, [10] but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. [11] When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. [12] For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. [13] So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. And all this is from the Father And He has chosen YOU! Not preselecting you for salvation, but selecting you because you chose Him And now we have the privilege to proclaim the Truth of God’s Word as His Ambassadors in the earth He has chosen you to be imitators of God, as we wait for Jesus come to come and receive us unto Himself And so I invite you to pray that God will send you out of this place and into the world this week with His message of hope and reconciliation on your lips! We must go to our neighbors and the nations, in His mighty Name! // PRAY // SING // GO Take this admonition from the Apostle Peter as you go from this place… 2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Emmaus Road Church, YOU ARE SENT!!