1. Lots of things happen when a person gets saved, born again.
a. He’s made right with GOD… justified.
Romans 3.28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
b. He’s under the ongoing change of the Holy Spirit… Sanctified.
2 Cor. 3.18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
c. She’s hungering for the spiritual things in life.
Matthew 6.33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
d. She has an eternal perspective. This world’s no longer home.
e. The Bible begins to make sense. You can’t get enough of it!
f. Families are restored. Marriages saved. Kids are now being raised not just to be good, but to be godly!
Romans 1.16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
g. Holiness, Righteousness, Gentleness, love begins to flow in places like never before!
h. A new bounce in your step, a wonderful song in your heart.
Ephesians 5.19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
Salvation. It’s awesome to see what God will do! I never stop marveling at the work of God in the lives of men & women!
SO salvation changes people, which changes homes, which changes neighborhoods, and workplaces, and schoolrooms, and cities, even to the uttermost parts of the world!
Acts 17.6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.
What a reputation to have! “Oh NO, the world changers have come to town!”
• That’s the MARK God left with the new church in Thessalonica… WORLD CHANGERS!
• This young church matured rapidly & found themselves in the middle of God’s plan for Macedonia, Achaia, & all the world!
You know that’s our calling too! We’re in the middle of something great, something grand too here in the Denver Metro area!
• It’s no different today for Calvary Chapel Aurora than it was for the believers in Thessalonica then!
• Notice Matthew 28:16-20 “Go Therefore”
• Jump to Acts 1:4-8 “You shall be witnesses to Me”
o Our Jerusalem – Aurora, neighbors, friends.
o Our Judea & Samaria – Denver Metro Area, Colorado, US
o Our Ends of the Earth – All over this globe!
I. (1:5) WORD CAME
1. (5) Gospel came not in Word only.
a. The Word Came. It was Heard. The Spirit confirmed it.
b. The power was in the Word, through the Holy Spirit.
c. Let’s flip back to 1 Corinthians 2.1-5
NOTE: If we just give out the Word, God’s Work will begin.
Isa 55.10-11 "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
APP: This is SO IMPORTANT for so many of you today.
• I hear it all the time. “I can’t share the gospel.”
• I don’t know how to speak. I can never stand before anyone.
• I get so nervous. I just can’t do it!
• But you can, and here’s how. Open your mouth & start sharing!
• Take a step of faith trusting God to do what He said He would do when His word goes forth.
OK, What do I share? Start with this Bible study. Give some of the references, share what the Lord has taught you.
• Open your Bible… AND WATCH.
• There’s the power of the Holy Spirit, combined with your Assurance in His Word and your life backing it up!
• POWER…HOLY SPIRIT…ASSURANCE…LIFESTYLE EXAMPLE…
SO THE WORD of God went into Thessalonica, a very pagan & heathen Roman colony.
• It was controlled by one of the greatest political & military powers that the world has ever seen.
• It was filled with material prosperity, sexual immorality.
• And the Word reached the hearts & lives of people and transformed them! – Nothing is impossible with God.
• And no one is beyond the reach of God!
II. (1.6-7) WORD FOLLOWED
1. (6) You Became Followers.
• The word changed them so that they began to follow the apostle Paul in their Christian life.
• The Greek word for ‘FOLLOW’ is ‘mimetes’
• Where get our words “imitate, mimic, copy”
• They became imitators, followers of righteousness.
1 Thess 2.14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans,
IMITATION here is not the type of imitation where we fake it, or we’re just playing games, trying to get by.
• Rather it’s the TYPE OF IMITATION that comes from seeing a great example and wanting to follow it wholeheartedly.
• Let’s survey through the Word as this word is used…
1 Cor. 4.16-17 Therefore I urge you, imitate me. 17 For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.
1 Cor. 11.1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
Eph. 5.1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.
Hebrews 6.12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
1 Peter 3.13 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?
NOTE: I thank God for the godly men & women God has put in my life so that I might follow their lead spiritually.
• We have the Old Testament Saints, New Test Saints.
• We have the godly men & women in our lives, in this church, in our family, that stand as a beacon of spiritual dependence!
• We have Jesus Christ to follow & imitate!
Hebrews 12.1-2 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
AND our imitation turns into being an example ourselves! V7
• That’s what happens when you imitate a strong, healthy, spiritually mature believer. You become an example yourself.
The Gospel is written a chapter a day
By the deeds that you do & words that you say.
Men read what you say whether faithless or true.
Say, what is the Gospel according to you?
But in the process of following and being an example, let’s not miss the end of v6… ‘MUCH AFFLICTION’.
• Affliction & Joy seem to be 2 words that don’t go together.
• Sort of like “Microsoft Works” or “Jumbo Shrimp”
AND YET there have been wonderful saints of God who have endured affliction & at the same time have had the joy of the Lord in their hearts. That is real triumph & victory! Job put it this way:
Job 2.10 But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
And so it was… so it is. The word Comes, It’s received, Affliction shows up, Endurance begins… a witness is formed.
• And the Word of God Sounds forth!... Look at v8-10
III. (1.7-10) WORD WENT OUT
1. (7-8) Your faith has gone out!
• This is so awesome.
• Word Came. Word Received. Word Goes Out!
Matthew 5:13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
• They stood strong in the midst of adversity.
• They imitated that which was good.
• They became examples to others who were looking to grow.
• And their testimony penetrated the entire region so that Paul didn’t have to say anything.
• The Church in Thessalonica, their changes did the talking!
Again, the word for SOUNDED could be translated TRUMPETED!
• That the word of the Lord has ‘trumpted’ all over the Greek peninsula.
• They weren’t tooting their own horns on how they fixed their lives, and how they read this, and did this… but what God did!
2. (9-10) For they say.
• Here’s their reputation.
• Notice it’s not in their name, or their building, or their budget, or some physical characteristic.
• Their reputation didn’t include anything like we might hear today… we’re a growing church, a this church, a that church.
#1 – TURNED TO GOD FROM IDOLS: In every city there were 1000’s of idols everywhere. Altars & temples & idolatry were rampant.
Remember to the Greeks on Mars Hill (Acts 17), there were so many idols that in Athens they even had a one to the Unknown God.
• But the Thessalonians TURNED TO GOD & AWAY FROM IDOLS!
• Notice it doesn’t say they turned from idols and turned to God.
• There’s a reason why it’s phrased that way.
NOTE: If I turn to God, he is able to help me deal with idolatry.
• If I turn to God, He will help me kick that addiction.
• If I will just turn to God, He will strengthen to crucify my flesh.
TOO many go about it just the opposite.
• ‘Yes, I’ll come to God if I can just clean up my life first.’
• I’m working on this, and I’m trying to handle that.
• When I’m done, then I will turn my life over to Jesus.
• You need to turn to God, and let Him deal with the idols!
• This was their WORK OF FAITH (v3)
#2 – SERVE THE LIVING & TRUE GOD:
• Their turning immediately led to serving.
• This was their LABOR OF LOVE (v3).
• You can’t really serve God unless you love him.
John 14.15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments.
• But if you do love Him, you’ll serve Him.
APP: there is such a great joy in service to the Lord.
• Once our lives consisted of serving ourselves.
• But now, we want God’s will on earth, not ours!
#3 – WAIT FOR HIS SON FROM HEAVEN:
• As we serve we wait and as we wait we serve.
• Waiting doesn’t imply that we’re not doing anything.
Luke 19.13 "So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ’Do business till I come.’
Luke 19.13 (KJV) And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
• This was their PATIENCE OF HOPE (v3).
NO WONDER They were witnesses to all the area.
• This was a church that was alive & vibrant & eager to spread the good news to anyone who would hear, a few who wouldn’t!
They had a relationship with Jesus Christ. He was their hope, their strength, the focus of all their energy and faith!
• Look at v10. Even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
• You can read through Revelation 6-19 about the wrath of God that will some day come upon a Christ rejecting world.
• As you read through it, you’ll see all that you’ll be delivered from.
• We are covered and kept by Him and before this time of Great Tribulation comes, I’m completely convinced that we are out of here… raptured out before the wrath to come!
1 Thess 5.9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
So their WORK OF FAITH, LABOR OF LOVE, and PATIENCE OF HOPE translated into a powerful evangelical testimony.
• Turned from Idols, Turned to God, Served Him, Shared Him and Looked for Him every single day!
Here’s the truth… if you decide to live this way today, you too will change, dramatically, drastically.
Is it a time for change? Are you in need of adjustment?
APP: Let that be our testimony as a church.
• It’s the Word Coming, Word Received, Word Sounding Forth.
