1 Thessalonians 1:3-10
So, a number of our people at Grace have commented that the sermons I did on faith, hope, and love were a blessing and challenging, and were asking if I could put some of the notes up so that they could have them as reference. Maybe I should re-visit my not liking sermon-note-handouts, and thinking that they are a waste of time.
Here are the notes that I sort of followed as I preached the sermon on faith. I have edited some of them because I either did not even touch the topic, or had abbreviations/wording that would only be significant to me. The writing in blue is additional comments that I am making.
Introduction: The Legacy We CreateA) What do you want to be known for personally?
B) What about as God’s people?
a. What is Grace known for?
b. If we left, would anyone miss us?
a. A model church for the entire region (Sno-King County)
b. Our faith in God was known all around (all cities w/in 100 miles)
c. The majority of our people were new converts, not transfers.
d. The Spirit is moving in mighty ways
e. The most influential man in Christianity called you “his glory, joy, and boasts before Jesus about you”
f. ALL of Christianity would flock to hear about what we do
Body, Part 1: The Church at Thessalonica
A) How it began (Acts 17)
a. Paul answers Macedonian call, goes to Phillipi
b. Gets persecuted, moves down into Thessalonica, a “cultural hub”
c. Preaches to the Jews in the Synagogue for 3 weeks
i. Many converted, some Jews, mostly Gentiles
d. Persecution comes, mob can’t find Paul, takes out Jason and extorts him.
e. Paul, Silas, Timothy sneak out of town, go start church in Berea.
f. Jews find out, chase Paul away, Tim and Silas stay to minister
g. Paul hindered in attempt to go back to Thessalonica, sends Timothy
h. Hears of the mighty move of God, gets jacked up, and writes them a letter.
a. All this talk about what works or not, what should we change or keep, strategies, models, etc. going on today. Believe me, there is so much literature, blogs, articles, opinions, etc on this. I put forth here sarcastically the notion of "is it possible that the key to a healthy church is already revealed in scripture, we just need to read it and find out?"
b. What is the reason for their success?
i. Their work of FAITH, steadfastness of HOPE, and their labor of LOVE
1. No mention of their methodology, structure, form, style, whatever
2. Kind of wish 2 Thessalonians was a methodology manual.
a. But, then we would try and stuff our culture into what worked for 1st C Palestine. This is exactly what churches of all shapes and sizes are doing today. We are refusing to critically look at the way we gather and operate as a kingdom of redeemed people and see if we are really impacting our culture or are we just creating "holy hang-outs" for Christians to commute to whenever it is convenient
Body, Part 2: Where the Work of Faith Begins
A) It all starts with OBEDIENCE to what God has said!
a. 1:6 “imitators of us, the Lord, received the Word”
b. 1:9 “turned to God, rejected their idols”
c. 2:13 “accepted the Word of God, acknowledged that it was working in their midst”
d. 4:1 “told how to live and are doing it”
B) God’s will is not nearly as ambiguous as we like to think it is
a. God has revealed enough of His will for us as a church that we don’t need anymore special revelation I believe this so strongly that I will write more about this separately. I believe that this principle is true for individuals as well.
i. Serve one another, love one another, evangelize the community, present the Gospel in a culturally relevant way, etc.
ii. “Many times what we want from God is not a mandate that requires our faith, but a guarantee that in reality, faith was never needed”
1. We will fight as long as we know we have the victory
2. We will try a new thing as long as we know it won’t fail.
3. We will go along with something as long as we are not inconvenienced, or get disappointed along the way, or even fail.
4. See the church of Thessalonica Their faith thrived in the midst of persecution. This was all done in the context of no guarantee of their success or safety:
a. 1:6 “received the Word in much persecution”
b. 2:14 “you suffered the same persecution that others did”
c. 3:3 “they would not be moved by the present afflictions”
iii. Realize that God does not guarantee success I will blog more on this as well, because I don't think we really think this is true!
1. He expects OBEDIENCE!
c. A church begins to live by faith when it moves the things God has clearly said into the “NON-OPTIONAL” category By non-optional, I mean the above stated revelations of God's will (love one another, serve one another, etc).
i. Until this happens, we will never be a church known by its faith
Body, Part 3: Dream Big and Press On
A) “God wants us to do the possible, so that by faith He will do the impossible”
a. OT example- 1 Samuel 14
i. Israelites in serious trouble- massive army of the Philistines coming at them
1. Saul only has 600 men left, and 2 swords! Everyone else ran and hid in holes, caves, graves, and cisterns.
ii. Jonathan decides to go with his armor bearer to see the advanced raiding party’s encampment
iii. His man with him doesn’t care about the odds, will go where Jonathan leads him as a side note, as a leader/pastor, this is response is awesome!
iv. They get taunted, then invited up to the camp for a whoopin
v. The POSSIBLE-
1. Jonathan moved out to meet them Faith is not passively sitting back wishing God would act on your behalf.
2. Believed some truth about God These were trustworthy, bankable truths about God, enough revealed about Him to move forward-
a. Israelites were His chosen people
b. If God wanted to, He could deliver them
3. Did not wait for a guarantee of success Jonathan and his armor-bearer "went for it"
vi. The IMPOSSIBLE-
1. God routed the enemy, even though He was not pleased with Saul at the time
i. Luke 5:17-20
1. Jesus is teaching in a home, there is a massive crowd and the house is standing room only
2. Some friends grab their paralyzed buddy after hearing Jesus is in town and try to get him in
3. Not to be hindered, they climb on the roof, dig a hole, lower their friend down so that Jesus could heal him
4. Jesus saw their faith and healed the man
5. The POSSIBLE note the other, potentially "spiritual" actions they could have taken, all of which on the surface could be considered good in and of themselves. They could have sent one guy to wait for Jesus to be done, and then plead with Him to come and heal their buddy. They could have waited for Jesus to walk past the house (highly unlikely) and corral Him in. They could have doubted that Jesus would have the time to minister to them and not taken any action. They could have waited for "a sign from the Lord", "fleeced God" or whatever else Christians call it. So their action is central to the story:
a. Friends gathered their buddy to move him
i. Were not daunted by the task ahead of them
ii. Got there and were initially thwarted, but sought a different way to make it happen This was a legitimate obstacle in their way, no doubt. But people of faith don't let setbacks deter them from the mission God had given them
b. Dug a hole so that they could get him to Jesus
c. Lowered him in
6. The IMPOSSIBLE:
a. Jesus healed the man after commending them for their faith.
ii. Luke 7:1-10
1. Jesus again in Capernaum, approached by the elders of the Jews on behalf of a Gentile centurion and his sick servant
a. They like this guy
2. Jesus agrees to come and see the sick servant
3. The Centurion sends others to meet Him before Jesus enters the house
4. Acknowledges that at Jesus’ word, the servant will be better because he recognizes Jesus’ authority is similar to his own
5. Jesus marvels at the depth of his faith and heals the servant
6. the POSSIBLE:
a. Centurion heard Jesus was around and sent people to find Him
b. Understood that a teacher of the Jews would probably respond better to Jews asking than a Gentile He was wise and understood the culture he was in
c. Believed that all Jesus had to do was say a word and healing would take place
7. The IMPOSSIBLE:
a. Jesus heals the servant after commending him for his faith
Conclusion of the Matter
A) God has revealed much of His will to us
B) Our response must be obedience to what He has commanded us to do
C) God wants us to move forward, advance the Kingdom and the Gospel here in Lynnwood as Grace Fellowship
D) He does not guarantee success, but will strengthen our body because of the movement we are doing
E) God just might make us a blessing to the area.
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