And speak, the first reading is in Acts 17, where we were a little bit earlier.
Acts 17, it's on page 1113 if you've got a red covered Bible.
Acts 17, and we're going to read verses 1 to 10.
These readings introduce to us a new series as we go through the book of 1 Thessalonians.
So all those who are going to be speaking through the summer, different people, will be taking a section on 1 Thessalonians.
This first reading tells us how the church started in that city.
So Acts 17, starting at verse 1.
When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.
As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days, he reasoned with them from the scriptures,
explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead.
This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ, he said.
Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.
But the Jews were jealous, so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace.
They formed a mob and started a riot in the city.
They rushed to Jason's house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.
But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting,
These men, who have caused trouble all over the world, have now come here.
And Jason has welcomed them into his house.
They are all defying Caesar's decrees, saying that there is another one called Jesus.
When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil.
They put Jason and the others on bail and let them go.
As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea.
On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.
So that's Acts, and then if you go to page 1186 to Thessalonians.
It's on page 1186.
And it's 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, the first 10 verses.
Page 1186, 1 Thessalonians chapter 1.
So this is a letter written back to the church that was started.
Paul, Silas, and Timothy.
To the church of the Thessalonians.
In God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace and peace to you.
We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers.
We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith,
your labour prompted by love,
your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
For we know, brothers and sisters, loved by God, that he has chosen you.
Because our gospel came to you not simply with words,
but also with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction.
You know how we lived among you for your sake.
You became imitators of us and of the Lord.
In spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
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,
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
and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead,
Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
Ralph.
Can I pray for you and for us?
Yep.
That won't upset you, will it?
That would be great.
No?
Okay, so I'm going to pray for Ralph.
This is Ralph Depping.
He watches television all day.
That's his work.
And he's also an elder, one of the leaders in the church.
So I'm going to pray for him.
Father God, we thank you so much for Ralph.
We thank you for the gifts that you have given to him.
We thank you for his love.
We thank you for his care for this church family.
We pray for him now as he speaks,
that you would fill him with your Holy Spirit,
that you would fill us with your Spirit,
that we may receive your words,
hearing clearly what you are saying,
changing us, transforming us,
and teaching us what it is to welcome the gospel in our lives.
So bless him, and bless us also in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Of course, I've got to clarify what exactly it is I do now, don't I?
My current work involves working for Sky Television,
so that's why I get to watch Sky Telly all day.
Not quite, but it's a little bit of my job.
So we're going to be moving a little bit between Acts 17
and 1 Thessalonians this morning,
mainly in 1 Thessalonians,
but we're referring back to Acts 17,
so keep your finger at Acts 17 as well.
I don't know if you've ever had a phone conversation
quite like the one that I had last Saturday morning.
This is kind of how it went to start, but anyway.
Can I speak to Ralph, please?
What's this in relation to?
I need to speak to Deppie and Ralph.
This is very urgent.
What's this about?
I need to speak to Deppie and Ralph, sir.
It is an urgent message.
I am from Microsoft.
Your computer is infected with viruses.
We are calling to help you stop your computer sending out viruses.
I said that was the call that I had last Saturday morning at home.
Someone was calling me with an urgent message,
demanding that I respond and answer them,
confirm who I was,
and hand over control on my computer.
If the message is true,
well then I do have a serious problem with my computer,
and this man,
who is phoning me up,
is here to help.
But if the message isn't true,
if the message is false,
then he was trying to trick me into believing him.
And you know what?
That was the thing that was going to create the serious problems,
wasn't it?
Where none existed before.
How I welcomed that message was going to be absolutely critical to the rest of my day.
Could I trust the message?
Could I trust the messenger,
the one who was bringing it?
What evidence was there
this was really someone from Microsoft
calling me up
with a message,
an authentic message,
that I should believe?
Now,
I'll leave you in suspense for a little bit.
I'll let you know later on
how I got on with that phone call.
We may not have had such phone calls
or experienced conversations like that,
but I think in a lot of ways
we're in that very position here this morning,
right now.
You see,
I'm bringing you a message,
and it's an urgent message,
and there's a serious problem.
And I'm asking you to believe the message
and to take action.
But who am I?
Why would you listen to me?
What's the message?
Why should I welcome it?
I know for a lot of people,
this isn't your usual church here this morning.
And so,
you're going to be extra wary,
aren't you?
The person up the front
and what they're saying.
Well,
I just want to encourage you
that you're right to be wary.
And even for the people that are regularly here,
you're right to listen
with that kind of slight wariness
and listening carefully.
Because the message of the gospel,
the message of a church,
is a serious business.
It's not to be taken lightly.
You see,
the message of Jesus makes bold claims,
and it demands a radical response.
And if we get it wrong,
if we get the message wrong,
if we get our response to the message wrong,
the results are serious.
We could end up ignoring this great news
of salvation,
of being saved from the coming wrath of God.
Or on the other hand,
we could be tricked
into believing
and to living for something
that is just a complete sham.
So the stakes are high,
how we believe
and how we welcome the message.
So the way I want us to consider
the message this morning,
the message of Jesus,
is to look at the Bible record
that we have with us.
We're going to look
at how that same message
came to a church in Greece.
The church we want to look at
is in the Greek city of Thessalonica.
It's still a city in Greece.
You can go there today on your holidays
and spend some euros.
I know it would be very welcome there.
But we're not looking at the church
in Thessalonica as it is today,
but as it was 2,000 years ago.
We're looking at the very first time
that the message of Christianity
reached the city of Thessalonica.
So it started in the Holy Land,
in Israel,
and it began to spread out
and eventually it spread to Greece.
And we're looking at how that message came
in order to read about this church
and how it welcomed the message.
We're going to look at the first person accounts
that we have from that time
as they are written for us
in the New Testament.
So we've read the account, haven't we,
in chapter 17 of Acts
and how the church was established.
And what we've read in 1 Thessalonians,
it's a copy of a letter
that the founder of the church, Paul,
the messenger that brought the message,
is writing to the congregation.
So the person who established the church,
who brought the message, the messenger,
is writing back to the church
to encourage them and to help them
and help them in their understanding.
And I think what we get in chapter 1
is kind of a reorientation
or a recap of what has happened
in Acts chapter 17.
So Paul is linking back
to the time that he spent with them,
how the message came,
and how the church was established.
And I think it's worthwhile to us
just to look briefly at chapter 17 in Acts,
so page 1113.
Paul and his companions
had come to the city of Thessalonica.
I mean, Scripture is rooted in history,
it's rooted in geography,
it's rooted in real places.
And you'd see that they passed through
a couple of different towns
and then they came to Thessalonica,
which was a strategic city.
It was about the size of Cork City
and was an important place
in the Roman Empire.
And there they preached
in the local Jewish place of worship
for three Sundays,
or three Saturdays,
the Sabbath,
in a row, the synagogue.
And that was their custom, wasn't it?
They would go to a city
and they would seek out people
that were already expecting to hear
about a king from heaven
that had come to rescue them.
And this was the message that Paul had
and he sought out people
that were willing to receive it.
So in the synagogue,
Paul tells the Jews about Jesus,
that Jesus is the one.
Jesus is the long-promised King of God
that has come to restore all things.
And this was the message
that the Jews were waiting to hear.
But instead of restoration
through conquest,
instead of restoration
by ridding Israel of all her enemies
and freeing Israel from the Romans,
the message of Jesus
is restoration through suffering,
restoration through death,
restoration through resurrection.
We read in verse 4
that some were persuaded in the synagogue,
along with a large number
of God-fearing Greeks
or Gentiles, non-Jews,
and also a few prominent,
not a few prominent women,
so a large number of prominent women.
But then do you see what happens
from verse 5 onwards?
The message and the messenger
comes under attack.
The message is not welcomed by everyone.
It's not universally accepted, is it?
Even among the Jews
who are meant to be waiting
for this message of a Messiah
that had come.
Verse 5,
we have bad characters.
We have a riot.
If we go to verses 8 and 9,
there's turmoil.
The Christians have to be put on bail.
And then in verse 10,
we have Paul and Silas
having to slip away
under the cover of darkness
in fear of their lives.
I don't know how you feel about this,
but I think there was a very real risk
that the message,
the word that was being scattered
among the Thessalonian people
would be strangled
by thorns of persecution and suffering.
It's a little embryonic church,
the word being planted,
and all these persecutions
coming in on top of it
to strangle it.
So I think it's some relief
to Paul and to us this morning
that we have the letters
to the Thessalonian church.
From what we read in chapter 1,
we find a church
that has not only managed to survive,
but has actually become
a model church
to the whole region and beyond.
But we read in Acts 17
of the kind of persecution
and the church has survived
and has become a model.
Why did this church,
in the midst of such chaos
and opposition,
manage to hold fast to the message?
I think the answer is,
or the one that we're going to look at this morning,
is right bang in the middle of chapter 1.
If you look at verse 6,
and there's just one phrase,
and we have it up at the top
as the title this morning.
And verse 6 says,
You became imitators of us
and of the Lord
in spite of severe suffering.
You welcomed the message
with joy,
with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
Do you see that phrase?
You welcomed the message.
So I want us to look
and focus on
the two verses
that just go before,
verse 6,
so verses 4 and 5,
and use them
as the starting point
or the branching out point
to look at the rest of chapter 1.
Because I think
we want to understand the message,
don't we?
What is this message
that we're talking about?
That's important.
How it came,
and then how it was welcomed
by the believers there.
For we want to have confidence
that we have welcomed
the right message,
the real message,
and that we're not just following
cleverly invented myths.
What confidence do you have this morning
that what you're hearing is true?
Or whichever church
you go to normally
or wherever you are,
how do you know it's true?
And I think we should have confidence
because what we're talking about
is serious business.
Firstly, verse 4,
For we know, brothers,
loved by God
that He has chosen you.
God, God is at work.
God is at work.
And God must be at work.
For if God is not the person
behind the message,
then what's the point?
What's the ultimate meaning
or impact
or purpose of the message
if God Himself
is not the one behind it?
But we read in verse 4
that God is the source
of the message that came to Him.
He is the one that loves them.
He is the one that has chosen them.
All responses to the Christian message
begin with this,
God's loving initiative
towards His people.
He is the one.
He is the one who rescues us
through Jesus Christ
from the wrath that is coming
that we read about in verse 10.
Every Christian story,
every church plant
begins with the same truth.
You know you are loved by God
because He has chosen you.
And His choosing
means there's no grounds
for boasting.
There's no grounds
for self-congratulation,
for patting yourself on the back,
for feeling better
than the person over there
or over there
or outside the door.
There's no barriers.
It can be erected between us.
If God has chosen us,
there are no barriers.
He loves you.
He has chosen you.
The initiative comes from Him.
I wish we had time
to dwell more in verse 4.
I really wish we had.
There's so much
just in that one verse
that we could take this morning.
But please just take this point
as we go on
that God loves you
and has chosen you.
I ask that we move
to verse 5 and onwards
that we hold verse 4 very dearly.
For we can argue, can't we?
And we get confused at times
between God's calling
and our response.
God calls and we respond.
And Christians argue
which is more important,
that God calls
or that we respond?
And who really makes the decision
when those two things
come together to believe?
Is it God's decision
or is it my decision?
And I think we need to know this,
that both are very clear
and both are there in Scripture.
Verse 4,
God has chosen you.
And in verse 6,
you welcomed the message.
Do you see?
The two go together
and we try to push them apart
and say this is it
and this is it,
but the two are there.
So we start with 4
and we move to 5.
And verse 5 has that
great linking word,
because, because, because.
We say that we are loved
and chosen.
How do we know this?
Because, because, because.
We know we are loved
and chosen
because of what comes
in verse 5.
Firstly,
the gospel came to them,
verse 5,
not simply with words,
because our gospel came to you
not simply with words,
but also with power,
with the Holy Spirit
and with deep conviction.
And when you read that,
it's tempting, isn't it,
to skip the,
the not simply bit.
You kind of, you know,
you're eager to get into things.
You say, oh, not simply, okay.
So we'll get on to the bit
that follows
because that's the complicated bit
and that's where we need to be.
But we'd be wrong
to skip this part
of the message coming.
Yes, there was more
than words at work
in the gospel
that came to the church
in Thessalonica.
But it's never less than words.
For words,
the content of the message
is absolutely,
they're absolutely critical.
Imagine if my phone conversation
continued like this.
Sir, you have a problem
with your computer.
Okay, I'm not going to tell you
who I am,
but what is the problem?
I can't say.
Sorry, you're telling me
there's a problem
with my computer?
Well, what kind of problem?
I can't say.
I don't, I don't have any words.
I've nothing really.
It's a problem
with your computer, sir.
You have to listen to me.
This is very urgent.
What kind of a message
would that be?
What kind of a conversation
would that be
if there was no content,
if there was no words,
if there was no information
communicated?
And a word of warning,
as we were here this morning,
we must not assume the message.
We must not assume the content.
We mustn't sit here
on a Sundays
and treat what we do
as some kind of social gathering
where we drink cups of tea
and we welcome one another
and we sing songs
and head off
and those things are great
and all those things
are critical to what we do,
but because they're infused
with the message.
We're not a social club.
That's not what it's about
on a Sunday.
As good as these things are,
without the clear retelling
of the gospel each week,
they are meaningless.
It's as if God wasn't there
or wasn't behind it.
And we need to not just do
this retelling on a Sunday.
We need to do it
throughout the week.
The words of the gospel,
the message,
the content
need to be heard and shared.
Pastor and author
Kevin DeYoung
put this very well
and I just read it
during the week
and thought it fit very well
and he puts it this way
and it's up there
if you're able to read
but you can just listen as well.
What he says is
don't assume,
articulate.
The first generation
receives the gospel.
The second generation
assumes the gospel.
What happens?
The third generation
loses the gospel.
We must not only
affirm the gospel
when we're having it
presented to us
like what's happening now.
We must teach our people
to articulate it.
we must sing it strong
and preach it loud.
We must be passionate
about clarity
and be clear
with our passions.
It must be clear
and we must be passionate
and those things
must go together.
Words are important.
We see that in the Bible
again and again.
God reveals himself
to his people
through words.
The words of the prophets,
the words of the apostles,
they're written down
in the Bible.
Paul, when he came to Acts,
he reasoned from the scriptures.
And not only that,
but Jesus himself
is identified as
the word of God.
The ultimate revelation
of who God is.
The ultimate word.
The ultimate communication
by God of himself
to his people
is Jesus.
Jesus is the word
made flesh,
made human.
Look at the chapter
in front of us.
Verse 5.
What he says,
our gospel
with words.
Verse 6.
It says you welcome
the message.
If you skip down
to verse 8,
speaking of the Thessalonians,
the Lord's message
rang out from you.
The gospel.
This message is the theme
of the whole
of the scriptures.
It fills each
and every page
of the Bible.
And what we believe
is of first importance.
For there are many groups
and many churches
that are church
only in name.
For they no longer
hold to the clear
message of the gospel.
The message they have
is a different message,
a different gospel
with a different focus.
And it's one
that's not fit for purpose.
Because the message
we need to hear
is one that saves us
from the wrath
of God.
and we need a message
that will rescue us
from the coming wrath.
Look at verses 9
and 10.
Second half of verse 9.
They tell
how you turn to God
from idols
to serve the living
and true God
and to wait
for his Son from heaven
whom he raised
from the dead,
Jesus,
who rescues us
from the coming
wrath.
Verse 10.
We read about Jesus,
the Son of God
that has come
from heaven.
God who comes
into a broken world
from the kingdom
of heaven
and he comes
as a man.
The same God-man,
it says,
he dies
and he's raised
to life again.
He's resurrected.
But why?
The clear message
to save us
from the coming wrath.
That's not a popular message.
It's not when you hear a lot.
It's even when you don't
often hear a lot of
in churches,
believe it or not.
But it's important
because you see,
God cannot continue
to forever tolerate
a broken world.
God can't continue
to put up with the suffering
and injustice
and rebellion
that is against him.
So his wrath,
his perfect justice,
and his punishment
against rebels
is coming.
If that is true,
what is the message
we need to hear?
We need a rescuer.
Jesus,
the one who delivers us.
So here in verse 10,
we have a summary,
a snapshot,
if you like,
an instant picture
of the message.
And this was the word
that was preached
to the Thessalonians
and the one that we seek
to continue to preach
as followers of Jesus,
the words that came.
Have you welcomed
this message?
And again,
we must not sit here
this morning
and just nod our head
in agreement.
As Kevin DeYoung tells us,
don't assume the message.
Articulate it
or speak it out.
Speak to each other.
Speak to people
that don't know it.
Speak it on Facebook,
on email and Twitter.
Say it again
and again and again.
Learn the message.
Speak the message.
Learn the message again.
Speak the message again.
Paul puts it like this
elsewhere in the Bible.
For what I received,
I passed on to you
as of first importance,
that Christ died for sins
according to the scriptures,
that he was buried
and that he was raised again
on the third day
according to the scriptures.
The gospel message
needs to be heard.
Back to verse 5.
The gospel that came
to the Thessalonians,
as it says,
was not simply with words,
it also came in power.
Not simple words,
but words with power.
Now what does that mean?
What does it mean here
when we say
that the gospel came in power?
Because we come across ideas
in the Bible that have
lots of meanings
and lots of expressions
and the way we use English,
we understand that a word
like power can mean
lots of things.
So we have to look,
I think,
for the clues
to get some understanding
in the passage.
Well, what is the meaning?
And on power,
I don't think we get
any direct comment
from Paul about
what the power means.
It could mean
that there were powerful signs
and wonders
that accompanied
the message
as it went
to the Thessalonians.
And we see that
in the history
of the early church
in Acts.
Often there were signs
and wonders
that went with the gospel,
powerful signs
to confirm the message.
But we don't actually
read of any of that
in Acts 17.
So I think
rather than
the power in this case
being powerful signs
or wonders,
which is one possibility,
it seems instead
in the context
of what Paul is writing here
in verses 4 and 5,
that the power
is the intrinsic power
of the gospel
to save people.
Paul makes this,
I think,
quite clear,
this idea in Romans.
You don't need to turn
to it,
chapter 1 and verse 16.
Paul says,
I'm not ashamed
of the gospel
because it is
the power of God
for the salvation
of everyone
who believes,
first for the Jew
and then for the Gentile.
And as we saw
in Acts 17,
that's what happened,
isn't it?
That the gospel
came in power,
first to the Jews
and then to the Gentiles
and everyone,
regardless of being
Jew or Gentile,
was saved by the gospel message.
It is the power
to bring about rescue
and deliverance
from the wrath of God.
Isn't that the power
that we really need
if the wrath of God
is coming?
And this is what we find,
this is what we find
in chapter 1
and all the verses
in Acts 17.
people that are being saved
by the power
of the gospel.
So the message
didn't just come
simply with words,
but it was accompanied
by saving power.
We see it in verse 9 again,
don't we?
They tell how you turn
to God
from idols
to serve
the living
and true God.
people responded
by the power
of the gospel
and turned
instead of living
for self,
they literally
did a 180
and they began
to live for God.
That's the power
of the gospel
and
well,
it's incredible.
The gospel
coming in power.
People who were
looking to idols
are now looking
to God.
Man-made comforts.
Little idols
were ruling them.
But when the gospel
came,
they turned.
We may,
of course,
want to object
at this point
to what happened
or maybe we're thinking
in our heads,
we have a little comment.
Yeah,
I mean,
the simple,
superstitious
first century Greeks,
you know,
their little wooden idols,
their little clay idols.
So,
okay,
they gave up them
for some invisible God
who lives in heaven.
Big deal.
That's not very powerful.
They just gave up
one religious superstition
for another religious superstition.
Little wooden idols
for invisible God.
I mean,
you know,
it's not very convincing,
is it,
to read that.
But you've missed a point
and you haven't
looked carefully enough,
I think,
because this isn't
some small change
of allegiance
between competing
sellers of religion.
for the message,
verse 6.
Do you see the context?
It's been welcomed
in the midst
of severe suffering.
Remember back to
what we read
in Acts 17.
The Christian message
is turning the world
upside down.
This message,
which is taking over
the whole world,
has come to our city.
What are we going to do?
Yes,
the idol makers
are going out of business.
Sorcery books
are no longer
being purchased.
In fact,
they're being burned
as what we read
in Acts.
The temple
prostitution business
is now at risk
as people have stopped
going to the temples
and taking part
in all that happens there.
The whole sordid
order of society
is being left behind
for a God
who,
in verse 3,
promotes love
and promotes faith
and promotes hope.
A message
that changes
priorities of people
to no longer
live for self
and pleasure
but instead
they can welcome
suffering and disgrace
because they're looking
for a saviour
from heaven.
This is the power
of the gospel
to turn people
away from idols
and to turn them
to serve the true
and living God.
We may scoff
at the idea
of bowing down
to little idols now.
You know,
we think it's ridiculous
but how many of us
bow down each day
to our TV idol?
How many of us
bow down to our
computer idol,
our phone idol?
We may not have
little statues
that we fear
and we appease
but we fear
losing our internet
connection for a day.
We appease
our God of stuff
and gadget
by making them
the focus
of our energies
and our time
and our money.
Or maybe not,
maybe for others
it's your work,
your desk,
the importance
of your desk at work,
the fields you work in
as farmers.
You're so eager
to do our jobs
that we don't have time
for the true and living God
and they're our idols.
Or we worship people,
we worship our partners,
our spouses,
our children,
they rule our lives
and we fear
messing them up
or we fear
messing up the relationship
and that dominates us.
We have to appease them.
We,
I,
am the superstitious
21st century equivalent
of the Thessalonians.
We are the simple creatures
with our created gods,
worshipping them
instead of turning
to the living God
and serving Him.
We need
the power
of the gospel
to rescue us
and to turn us
towards the Savior
from heaven.
Verse 5,
because our gospel
came to you
not simply with words
but also with power
with the Holy Spirit.
So what's up
with the Holy Spirit then?
Why does he get a mention?
We know the content
of the gospel,
we've spoken about that,
the words,
we see the power
of the gospel
to change lives
and then we hear
that the Holy Spirit
is part of this message
coming.
There's lots
and lots
we could say
about the work
of the Holy Spirit
in bringing
the gospel message.
He convicts people
of sin,
makes them aware
of their sin.
He brings about
the new birth,
the change inside
where people are able
to follow God
and he comes to live
inside the believer
and empower them.
I'm not going to try
and squeeze all that
in here
because we know
that the work
of the Spirit
is so massive
in this whole area.
But let's look for
why I think Paul
included this here.
Again,
trying to stick
to the context
of the passage
and what it says
rather than reading
in all that we could
to see what it says.
Let's look for the clues.
It's verse 6,
I think.
I think verse 6
is a big help
in understanding
the role of the Holy Spirit
in the message coming.
You became imitators
of us
and of the Lord
in spite of severe suffering.
You welcome the message
with the joy
given by the Holy Spirit.
You see the two things linked?
The message,
the Spirit.
And the reference
to the Holy Spirit
brings us back
to the context again
of the letter
and the context
of how the church
was born
and it makes sense.
The church was born
in severe suffering.
Churches do not always
start out
or indeed continue
in prosperity
and blessing.
In fact,
many churches
are born
in suffering.
Paul suffered.
Acts 17.
The local believers
suffered.
They were arrested.
They faced being dragged
from their homes
and brought before
the magistrates.
They had enemies
who were actively
seeking to persecute them.
They were suffering
for the gospel
and because of the gospel.
Think about that.
In order to welcome
that message,
what that meant,
in such circumstances,
would you welcome
the message?
Would you be so quick
to switch your allegiances?
Seriously,
why ditch your current
kind of harmless idols
maybe,
you know,
from what you can see,
things you can control,
and bring such suffering
on yourself
because of the Holy Spirit.
The end of verse 6.
They endured
all of that suffering
with joy.
With joy
given by the Holy Spirit.
Ah, come on.
Suffering?
Okay.
With joy?
Really?
No one.
No one finds joy
in being dragged
before the courts
and having to be bailed out
in order to keep the peace.
But that's exactly
what this is saying.
The Holy Spirit
enables joy
in suffering.
And it's one of the things,
one of the qualities,
I think,
of the Christian message
that makes it
unique.
it's not a message
primarily of success,
of wealth,
of healing,
of conquest,
of achievement,
of ultimate victory
in this life.
Because that's what the Jews
were expecting,
wasn't it,
from the Messiah.
But Paul taught them
in the synagogue
that the Messiah
must suffer.
It's a message
of joy,
yes,
in suffering.
Of a Savior
who suffered
and died.
And it's such joy
that characterizes
the Spirit's work
in bringing the gospel.
It's a joy
that welcomes
the message
of a servant king
who was spat on,
who was whipped,
who was beaten.
Jesus was devoid
of property
and health
and well-being
in the end.
He was actually
stripped
of his last clothes
as he went
to the cross.
He hung there
naked,
naked on a tree.
a torture instrument
for the world
to mock.
We need the Holy Spirit.
We need him
to bring about joy
in such a spectacle.
For there's no human joy
in looking at the cross.
There's no human source
for that joy
in the sufferings of Christ.
Or there's no human joy
to want to follow that.
Or to want to suffer
like that.
Can the followers
expect it to be treated
better than their master?
Oh, that the message
of the cross,
the message of the cross
would go hand in hand
with the joy
of the Holy Spirit
so that when we see Jesus,
we see a glorious
suffering king.
back to verse 5
and the final
thing that the gospel
came with,
the message.
The gospel came to you
not simply with words,
but with power,
with the Holy Spirit,
and with deep conviction.
The final piece
for the Thessalonians
was that it came
with deep conviction.
This, I think,
shifts our attention
somewhat from the message
to the messenger.
And it's something
if you're reading Thessalonians
as we've read
chapter 1 this morning,
we're going to be
going through it
for a couple of months,
that we can't get away from.
The who is so very important
to this letter.
Paul reminds them,
doesn't he,
in the latter part
of verse 5,
of what deep conviction
looks like.
You know how we lived
among you for your sake.
Full assurance
by Paul in the message.
You see,
Paul isn't some
hired sales rep
for the latest
religious fad
that he's trying to sell
into these new places
that's come out
of the Holy Land.
You see,
Paul is fully assured
of his message
and deeply convinced
that it is the power
of God for salvation,
the only message
worth bringing.
So Paul not only
shares the message,
but Paul shares
his very life
with the believers.
He is willing
to model Jesus
to them.
So that in verse 6,
the Thessalonians
become imitators
of Paul
and in turn
imitators of the Lord.
And again,
how did Paul imitate
his saviour?
Through his joy
in suffering.
Jesus poured
immense,
immense sufferings
into the life
of Paul.
Remember Paul,
his old name?
He used to be called
Saul.
And Saul used to go around
persecuting the Christians.
He presided over them
being killed.
He was on a mission
to eradicate the church
and God changed
his life.
The most unlikely person
to change allegiance
was Saul.
But he was transformed
by meeting Christ.
And Christ told him
he would suffer greatly
for the gospel.
Christ poured his
sufferings into Paul
and Paul received him
with joy as he went
through beatings
and imprisonments
and shipwrecked.
He had deep conviction
as he was hounded
from city to city,
keeping one step
of the people
that would kill him
for preaching this gospel.
Going through this,
it asks a question
of me.
It asks a question
of us all.
How important
is the messenger
then
in bringing the gospel?
Does the messenger
matter?
For I am no Paul
as I stand here
this morning.
As the gospel
is spoken in our service,
it's coming with words,
it is coming
with the power
to save,
and the Holy Spirit
is there for us
if we would receive him
so that we can receive
the message with joy.
But what about
the deep conviction?
And I stand exposed
for the call of God
on all of us
and on me in particular
as I stand here
is to live among you,
to live among you
for your sake,
to allow my following
of Jesus,
as it says in verse 6,
to be an example
that can be imitated
by others.
And this makes it
very personal,
doesn't it?
And as I say it,
I feel weak
and unable
for my conviction waivers
and my example
is not always
one to imitate,
but the message
must be lived out
in a community.
We're not
100-meter sprinters
competing against
one another
to get to the end.
If anything,
we're like
three-legged racers
in a marathon
holding each other
trying to get there.
So I look to you
as you look to me
as we all look
to Christ together.
The gospel is about
deep conviction
to the message
and deep conviction
to other people.
It's chapter 2
and verse 8
which is such
a great summary.
I had to go ahead
and pluck it out.
Apologies to whoever
is preaching
on chapter 2
and verse 8.
We loved you
so much
that we were delighted
to share with you
not only the gospel
of God
but our lives
as well
because you had
become so dear
to us.
The messenger
is part of God's purpose.
Not that God
is dependent on us
for he can
and he sometimes
does use
different means
to reach people
but I think
his normal method
in building his church
is person to person
and we have to be
that daily example
of Christ
and his selfless
suffering
to each other.
Are you willing
to share your life
with the person
next to you?
The person behind you?
The people
that are out
in junior church
and up in creche?
How deep
is your conviction?
Maybe it's just
enough
to be here
on Sunday
for a couple
of hours.
That's good.
It's a good
starting point
but I'd ask you
not to stop there.
Build on it.
Grow it.
Look to others
for an example
of what it means
to have deep conviction
and for aim
as we see
what happened here
is not just
to be an example
to one another
but for the message
to go out
as it did
in verses 7 and 8.
Do you see that?
It went out
from Macedonia
and Achaia
which is basically
the whole of Greece
and as Paul
went around
not just to other churches
but he says
everywhere.
So Paul went
to cities
where there
was no churches
and Paul says
verse 8
we do not need
to say anything
about it
for they themselves
report the kind
of reception
he gave us.
So the reputation
of the church
in Thessalonia
it went out
everywhere
and people knew
of the church.
Ah the message
yes we've heard
the message
I know you're
the first person
to bring it to us
but we've heard
the rumours
and the stories
of these people
that have turned
from idols
to serve the living God
and who are
awaiting a saviour
to rescue them
from the coming wrath
we've heard that message
and wouldn't it be great
if that's the kind
of reputation
that we had
as a church
that we went
to Kinsale
or around Cork
or Waterford
or Wexford
or Dublin
or Donegal
or further afield
that yes the church
in Carragallion
we've heard of them
they love Jesus
and it all starts
with this
welcoming the message
in the midst
of severe suffering.
I've gone well
over my time
but I have to tell you
about my Microsoft
caller
don't I?
Leaving you in suspense
that wasn't very fair.
Needless to say
he was a scammer
trying to part a fool
from his money
I didn't give in
his aim was to get
control of my computer
at which point
he would then install
the viruses on us
and then charge me
for the privilege
of removing them.
You've been warned.
His message was a lie.
The words he spoke
they were all wrong.
He had no power
to fix my computer
and I can tell you
if he got hold of it
I wouldn't have any joy
in the suffering
that was going to follow.
And I was completely
unimpressed
by his lack of assurance
when I began to question
him of his own message
and he struggled
to convince me.
So in the end
I lost nothing
by ignoring it.
In fact I was better off.
So what are you going
to do with the message
you've heard this morning?
You can treat it
in exactly the same way.
You can treat it
as a scam
and dismiss it.
Or you can weigh up
the evidence
the words
the power
the work of the spirit
and the deep conviction
of the people
that believe.
You know our church
isn't perfect
the Thessalonians
we're going to see
aren't perfect
Paul has to rebuke them
as well as encourage them.
But we must come back
time and again
and ask of our church
and of ourselves
about the gospel
we believe.
Does it have word?
Does it have power?
Does it have spirit?
Does it have conviction?
If the evidence is there
believe the gospel
and look to heaven
for a saviour
from the coming
wrath of God.
Thanks Ralph.
Well in response
to what we've heard
we're going to sing
our final song
He is the Lord
and He reigns on high
If you look at
the second verse
if you could flick that up
and He comes in power
the next one
sorry
there we are
Your gospel
O Lord
is the hope
for our nation
it's the power
of God
for our salvation
so let's stand
as we remind ourselves
and sing
of how great
our God is.
Amen.
He is the Lord
and He reigns on high
He is the Lord
He's been to the darkness
created the light
He is the Lord
Who is like unto Him ever ending in days
He is the Lord
And He comes in power
We call on His name
He is the Lord
Show Your power
O Lord our God
Show Your power
O Lord our God
Your gospel, O Lord
Is the hope for our nation
You are the Lord
The power of God
For our salvation
You are the Lord
We ask not for riches
But look to the cross
You are the Lord
For our inheritance
Give us the lost
You are the Lord
Show Your power
O Lord our God
Show Your power
O Lord our God
Show Your power
O Lord our God
Please do take a seat
Just a couple of instructions
And then I'm going to pray
And we're going to have lunch now
Which is going to be served over where the hatch is
And so there's going to be tables there
So a couple of volunteers to get the tables that are behind the screen
Put them there
And anybody who can help bring the food out
If you've got children
If you could kind of look after them
And then we're going to form a nice orderly queue
As we always do
Over that way to there
Pick up your dinner
A drink
And then just sit around
And chat
To people as well
So I'm going to give thanks to God
For the food that we're going to have now
And please just use this time just to chat
We're here to celebrate the arrival of Ben
Celebrate Peter and Maeve are leaving in the right way
You understand that
But let's pray
Father thank you so much for your goodness
Thank you most of all for the gospel
For that message that has come to us
We pray that you would work it into our lives
Convincing us of its truth
Changing us and transforming us
We thank you now for the food that we are going to enjoy together
We thank you for the reasons that we are having this lunch
For little Ben
For his family
Thank you that we can celebrate these great gifts that you give to us
Thank you also for Peter and Maeve
And we pray your blessing on them
So we thank you Father
For each and every one of your good gifts
In Jesus name
Amen
Thank you I thank you for the puppy that we are lettingسم학INE
For their family to pursue Seymour
In Jesus name
Amen
So we sharing the information that we are going to estudium
Angelus
Who's going to get to find the School of Housing
What other things are trying to do here
Those children,...
A mother
Thank you.