Leaving Lifeless Idols for the Author of Life 1 Thessalonians 1:4-10 (NKJV) Paul started the church of Thessalonica. As he left Phillipi, he made his way into Thessalonica. Within three weeks the gospel had been given, it had been received and a church had been planted. God moved in a very quick and powerful way there in Thessalonica. And now Paul writes this letter to this new church plant knowing that they would need some encouragement. Last week, Paul pointed out in verse 3 that they were a church of faith, hope, and love. Marks of maturity. Their faith was producing fruit, their labor was rooted in love, and they were looking with anticipation of the Lord s return. Now we continue, as Paul will commend them on how they received the word of God. Let s read verses 4-10 and then we will come back and walk through it. Vs. 4 knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God. The doctrine of election can often be a place where people split hairs and even cause division. In my experience, it s only when it s taken to extremes that this will happen. When you take it to a place that is not true to scripture as a whole. One the best books on this, if you re a Bible student, is Norman Geisler s book, Chosen But Free It s interesting the word chose is used to speak of the chosen believer in Ephesians just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love Ephesians 1:4 (NKJV) The word chosen here for believers is also used in describing Judas Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 1
Jesus answered them, Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve. John 6:70-71 (NKJV) Judas was chosen, but never fully believed. He was definitely not a believer or Jesus would not have called him a devil. He had every opportunity to believe, but chose not to believe. Peter says the same thing when he speaks of the false prophets the false teachers who were teaching a false gospel. But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 Peter 2:1 (NKJV) Jesus died for these guys. Notice the word bought. What He did for them on the cross was totally enough to deliver and purchase them, but they chose to deny the Lord who bought them. They resisted the true gospel that could set them free for a false gospel that kept them in bondage. Steven was martyred by a group of Jewish legalist that saw the gospel as a threat. Notice what he said about them "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Acts 7:51 (NKJV) The Holy Spirit was seeking them out, drawing them near, and convicting their hearts, but they resisted. They were choosing not to believe and thus were sealing their fate; chosen, but never believed or received. We are chosen in Christ before the foundations of the earth, but at the end of the day, we must believe and receive Jesus Christ. Peter would remind us Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:10-11 (NKJV) Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 2
Notice our part to be diligent to make our call and election sure. It s what we see here in church of Thessalonica their work of faith, labor of love, and hope in His return was evidence of their salvation, their election. Notice as Paul moves on Vs. 5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. What a great statement! The gospel did not come in word only, but also in power. The gospel in word is very powerful that Jesus died and three days later, He resurrected from the dead to defeat sin and death for all of us that alone can be a very powerful message. But when it s spoken in the power of the Holy Spirit, when it s dipped in the power and energy of the Holy Spirit, its power is extremely potent. The word here for power is dunamis. It s where we get our word dynamite. It s the promised power for every believer. Before the disciples were sent out to preach the gospel and give witness of the resurrection, Jesus told them to go to Jerusalem and wait until they were endued with power. Notice Then He said to them, Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. Luke 24:46-29 (NKJV) Now, if the disciples who had seen the resurrected Jesus needed to be endued with power, how much more do you and I who have not seen Him? An eyewitness can be a pretty powerful and persuasive, but yet Jesus said wait until the promise of power shows up in your life before you start preaching. Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 3
It s what s needed in our pulpits today. It s what s needed in living witness of the church today. Sadly, we so often reach for gimmicks or entertainment. We come up with new and creative programs every year to get the gospel out. When what we really need is the Holy Spirit s power. God can use programs, but the gospel dipped in the Holy Spirit s power and flowing through His people is full of potency. What a mistake we make today when we try to relegate this power of the Spirit only to the Biblical days. What a mistake we make today when we place such an emphasis upon the enticing words of man's wisdom and seeking to establish people in the faith by just fancy speeches, clever talk. We need the dynamic of Spirit that the word of God might come not just in word only, but in the power and the demonstration of the Spirit of God. Pastor Chuck Smith Paul could say to the church of Thessalonica, We brought the gospel to you, not just in word only, but in power. Our words and our life were baptized in the power and dynamic of the Holy Spirit. And notice the outcome Vs. 6 And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit There it is chosen, but free. The gospel was presented in power, but then it was received. That s the responsibility of man the gospel must be believed in and then received. When it s preached, there is faith that is given, but that faith must be acted on. It s acted on when you believe, receive, and call upon the name of the Lord. Hear me today we re not baptized into the faith. We are not schooled into the faith. We re born into the faith and that happens when we believe and receive. Paul tells us in chapter 2 how this happened in Thessalonica For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 4
the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 (NKJV) You received the word, which you heard, and you welcomed it not as the word of men, but the word of God. That s why the seed fell on good soil. They believed it was truly the word of God. That s why it worked so effectively in their lives. That s why a church was birthed and elders were put in place so quickly. The gospel came in power and the hearts of those who believed received it as the word of God not men. Paul would even remind them that they received it with much affliction and with the joy of the Holy Spirit. There was affliction, but also great joy. We read about this in Acts 17. Notice how this whole thing went down Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ. And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas. But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. 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. Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king Jesus. And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things. So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. Acts 17:1-9 (NKJV) Notice there was a great multitude of devout Greeks and some of the leading women who came to Christ. A great multitude came to Christ, which by definition means a large crowd of people, and it caused a stir in the city. Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 5
The legalist were threatened by the movement and so they stirred up some of those in the marketplace, and put together a mob to make life hard for Paul and the boys, but also to put fear into these new believers. Why did the marketplace get involved? Verse nine might give us some insight. Notice what they were coming out of Vs. 9 For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God They were idol worshippers. That was the influence in this region. When Paul made his way into Athens, just a couple cities over, it was full of idol worship. There were altars of worship everywhere. They even had one for the unknown god, just in case they left one out. Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. Acts 17:16 (NKJV) So the influence was everywhere in this region. And the marketplace was probably manufacturing these idols and making some profit from them, so it was going to affect the economy of Thessalonica. And I am sure it didn t help their cause that these new believers received the Lord with great joy. Joy can be contagious. It wouldn t take long for those looking in to see the emptiness of the idol worship and the fulfillment that these new believers were finding in a relationship with Jesus as something worth looking into. They were being set free from the emptiness of the false idols; letting go of the substitute for the real thing. Somewhere back in the late 80 s my parents started dieting. It was about the time I was in college and everything in the fridge changed. The butter was this spray bottle of some weird chemical. The cheese we put on our sandwiches tasted like plastic, the kind of cheese that never melts. They got rid of sugar and went to sweet and low. Sodas were diet they tasted like medicine. Instead Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 6
of ice cream it was ice milk; the milk was non-fat, which tasted like water, it was nasty in our fruity pebbles. Needless to say, we stopped opening the fridge and stopped eating their food. It s probably why at my home we want everything real, no substitutes. That was the church of Thessalonica, with great joy they received the real thing Jesus, and letting go of the lesser thing their lifeless idols. Notice what it did in the surrounding areas as they were looking in at this new community of believers Vs. 7-8 so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. They became examples, not only in their community, but also into the communities around them into Macedonia and Achaia. Their conversion, their life story, became a living witness of the power of the gospel. Last week, we were praying for Michael and Amanda s twin boys, Luca and Kaden. They were born pre-mature and we were praying for God to sustain their life, but by Monday morning both of the boys made their way to heaven. When I saw Michael, after he had made his way back home, he said to me, I felt the worst pain any parent could ever feel, but at the same time, I experienced the greatest peace that I could ever feel. He was sounding out faith in the word of God during a time of great affliction. Notice the statement, from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth The word sounded out actually means to sound as a trumpet. They were not tooting their own horns, as did the Pharisees. They were trumpeting forth the good news of salvation. Warren Wiersbe This is what was being said about them Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 7
Vs. 9 For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God In a region full of emptiness from idolatry, this group of believers in Thessalonica was an example of what can happen when you put your faith in the true and living God. Notice the word turned here To turn, to turn about, to be converted. It s like that military term, about face. It means turn around, go the other way, and in this case it involves conversion. That s really what repentance is all about. We make an about face by leaving the useless and lifeless idols and put our faith in the One who is life and can grant eternal life. Who, not only delivers us from idols, but also delivers us from the wrath to come. Vs. 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. Both the wrath that was due to us because sin, but also the wrath that will be poured out on the whole world during the great tribulation. That s why Peter reminds us and we finish "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord Acts 3:19 (NKJV) Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 8