WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.080 And yeah, I want to reiterate what Zach said. 00:00:02.160 --> 00:00:04.559 Don't worry, Russ will be back. 00:00:04.719 --> 00:00:10.000 Okay, so I am thankful that Russ gets to have a sabbatical. 00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:14.160 It's something that we kind of started that rhythm about eight years ago. 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:23.519 I think it's healthy for Russ to have a break with his family, but I think it's also healthy for our church to not be kind of centered on Russ. 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:27.519 If we're centered on someone, I hope that it's Jesus. 00:00:28.079 --> 00:00:31.920 I'm also thankful that I'm up here and it's June of 2021. 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:34.719 It's not June of 2020. 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:38.799 We all learned a lot about ourselves over the last year. 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:44.000 One comedian that I saw, his name is Nate Bargazzi. 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:53.200 He said, I have some friends that I don't think they know COVID exists, or if they do, they may be trying to catch it. 00:00:54.000 --> 00:01:01.679 But then we have other friends that live by themselves and they wear a mask in the shower because their hamster has asthma. 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:05.439 So we all are somewhere in the middle of both of those. 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:09.120 I am doing COVID or was doing it pretty pretty much perfect. 00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:10.480 I never wipe down boxes. 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:13.280 You know, I wore my mask at all the right times. 00:01:13.519 --> 00:01:23.120 Um but really it revealed to me my kind of infinite ability to judge people that do differently than I do. 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:36.799 And another one of my favorite bits from Seinfeld, he says, um, have you ever noticed when you're in the car how anyone driving a little faster than you is a maniac, but anyone driving a little slower than you is a grandma. 00:01:37.359 --> 00:01:42.319 You are the only one that is going the exact perfect speed. 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:45.040 And I can very much relate to that. 00:01:45.120 --> 00:01:47.359 Even if someone's driving the same as me, I get annoyed by that. 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:49.040 I'm like, just go or not go. 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:59.120 Um, but anyway, um thank goodness for this church because I need to hear the message of grace, because on my own, I can be pretty judgmental. 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:03.040 Um let me pray before I start preaching through the scripture. 00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:07.280 Heavenly Father, um, just thankful for this church. 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:10.319 I'm thankful that Russ gets a break. 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:19.120 Um, it's been a hard year for pastors, and uh I pray that he is refreshed and just enjoys some time away. 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:22.159 I'm so thankful for our staff at our church. 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:29.039 I'm thankful for Annie and Sam and Sam and just seeing um you work through them. 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:32.319 And my prayer this morning is that you would speak through me. 00:02:32.479 --> 00:02:33.520 That is my only hope. 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:35.039 In Jesus' name I pray. 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:36.000 Amen. 00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:50.319 So, um, the next four or five weeks we're gonna get be going through First Thessalonians, and I want you to kind of think about this, not just you're going to church and you're gonna hear another sermon, but like let's take a 10,000-foot view. 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:53.199 So, this is gonna be a little bit of an introduction. 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:57.280 Um, we believe that this is the word of God. 00:02:57.439 --> 00:03:06.639 Our church believes that there really was a man named Paul, and he really did write this letter, 1 Thessalonians, to a church plant. 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:09.120 Uh, and we're a church plant too. 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:14.000 We're about eight years old, so I find this letter to be pretty relevant to us today. 00:03:14.159 --> 00:03:27.039 Um, one of the guiding principles of our church says the Bible is the inerrant work of God and stands as the ultimate source of knowledge of God's truths for the church. 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:29.680 The Bible alone is the standard. 00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:39.039 The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks. 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:53.840 So Paul wrote this letter, and most of you know who Paul was and his backstory, but just in the way of introduction and context, I think it's important to kind of know what he was doing when he wrote this book. 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:57.199 So Paul started off named Saul. 00:03:57.360 --> 00:03:58.879 He was chief of Jews. 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:07.680 He describes himself as, as to righteousness under the law, blameless, steeped in Judaism to the highest degree. 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:15.120 Uh Acts 8 says, Saul was ravaging the church and entering house after house. 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:19.680 He dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:21.759 Well, something happened to Saul. 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:24.319 He had a pretty miraculous conversion. 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:34.399 So he was walking to Damascus and with some other men, and he saw a bright light, and he heard a voice that identified the voice as Jesus. 00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:37.759 And Jesus said to Saul, Why are you persecuting me? 00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:39.920 And it wasn't just Saul that heard it. 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:42.399 Um, the other people with Saul heard it. 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:47.600 He was blind for three days, and his life was forever changed. 00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:54.399 Um, it says in Acts 9, immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues. 00:04:54.720 --> 00:05:10.959 And I don't know about you, but I would imagine if you were on either side, a believer or a Jew, I might be a little tentative about this guy who was rounding up people to bring him to jail, and then all of a sudden overnight he has this miraculous conversion. 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:17.120 But I think God wanted to make it clear that it wasn't Paul, it was God working through Paul. 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:20.079 And his life was changed. 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:27.279 Um he wanted to live his life for God, and he wanted other people to have the same experience he had. 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:30.560 So he devoted his life to planting churches. 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:37.680 And the scripture that we're gonna talk about today is a letter that he wrote back to one of the churches that he helped start. 00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:50.480 And I think it's important to note that Paul had limited time and space, uh, so I think these words, he was careful about choosing what he wanted to say to this group of people. 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:53.680 Uh, and I think these words are relevant to us. 00:05:54.160 --> 00:05:59.680 So a little bit about Thessalonica is in eastern Greece, largest city in Macedonia. 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:01.839 Uh it's about 200,000 people. 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:04.879 And we think Paul wrote this book about 50 AD. 00:06:04.959 --> 00:06:10.560 It took place on his second missionary journey, uh, and it was one of his first letters that he wrote. 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:15.040 Um, he preached there for three Sabbaths, and then he got run out of the city. 00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:23.519 And so this letter was kind of basically to check in on them and to give them some guidance of what he thought they needed to know. 00:06:23.759 --> 00:06:34.959 But before, I'm just kind of gonna go through the verses, but before we do, um so it's Sam Rapha is gonna be preaching next week, and then and then Blue Collar Comedy Tour, Brad O'Kelly. 00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:36.160 We'll close this out. 00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:41.680 But I was very excited when I got chapter one, I got assigned chapter one. 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:46.160 Um because it's it's all encouragement, it's all good. 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:50.079 Poor Brad gets like rapture and sexual immorality. 00:06:50.240 --> 00:06:56.319 But let's just remember this, this sermon, because this is what all of those commands are rooted in. 00:06:56.480 --> 00:07:01.759 Um I don't know if any of you have do we have anybody who has seen the show Ted Lasso? 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:03.519 Any Ted Lasso fans? 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:08.560 So it is one of my favorites, like in the last five years, the best show. 00:07:08.720 --> 00:07:11.839 Uh and Ted is an encourager, just like Paul. 00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:20.000 And one of my favorite Ted quotes kind of reminds me how I felt when I read 1 Thessalonians and I got chapter one. 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:29.199 Ted says, I feel like I got knocked out of the lucky tree and hit every branch going down and landed in a pool full of cash and sour patch kids. 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:34.560 And that's kind of that's kind of how I feel that I got this chapter. 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:40.959 Because in Paul's letters, he always starts with who we are in Christ. 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:43.120 So we call those the indicatives. 00:07:43.279 --> 00:07:50.319 So basically, God is indicating who we are, and then he finishes with the imperatives, which are the commands. 00:07:50.560 --> 00:08:04.160 So when you hear the commands in later chapters, just remember that God has, he reminds us of where that power comes from to do the commands in the beginning of the letters. 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:13.600 And the order is really important because if we go to the commands first, we end up being prideful or guilty because we can't do it on our own. 00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:14.879 Ask me, I know. 00:08:15.040 --> 00:08:15.920 Uh why. 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:32.159 So another guiding principle of our church says the unconditionality of God's love to those who are in Christ, known in the indicatives of the New Testament, gives a person peace, security, and bursts a desire for godliness. 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:42.720 We teach the imperatives of the New Testament, what Scripture demands of us, in the context of the indicatives of the New Testament, what God has done for us. 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:46.960 So let's go, let's dive into these verses. 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:49.440 There's only ten verses, pretty short chapter. 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:57.600 Um, verse one Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the Church of the Thessalonians and God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:08:57.840 --> 00:08:59.360 Grace and peace to you. 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:07.759 So Sylvanus is Silas, and Paul is identifying this is who's writing this letter, um, and he starts off by saying, Grace and peace. 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:13.840 And he begins his letters by saying those those three words, grace and peace to you. 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:22.159 And it's easy to kind of yada yada over those words and kind of think, eh, grace and peace, let's just get into what he's telling us. 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:24.799 But I think it's one of the best parts. 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:28.000 It sets the tone for the entire book. 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:32.320 Um, so what does that mean when he says grace and peace? 00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:38.240 I think he's reminding these people that God's grace is with them. 00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:43.840 Um, and one of my favorite definitions of grace is unmerited one-way love. 00:09:43.919 --> 00:09:47.279 It's unearned and no strings attached. 00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:59.440 And I think when we realize that we are fully known, like our warts, like the stuff I don't want you to know about me, and you probably wouldn't let me preach if you did know these things about me. 00:09:59.840 --> 00:10:06.000 Um, but God knows those things, but he loves me fully, that has a lot of power. 00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:12.080 And we'll talk about some of that power later, but let's talk about the word peace. 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:16.960 Um is there anything better than the peace of God? 00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:19.840 Um, and the order of this is important. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:25.519 I think we have to have grace first, and then we can experience that peace. 00:10:26.960 --> 00:10:35.360 Verses two and three, um, we give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers. 00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:44.080 Remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:10:44.879 --> 00:10:49.600 When the gospel captures our heart, we look for things to be thankful for. 00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:52.799 We're um just yeah, more appreciative. 00:10:53.200 --> 00:11:00.559 Paul talks about um three important qualities in a believer's life that he talks about in other letters faith, hope, and love. 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:16.480 And I think this community of Thessalonians is an example of people who understand the indicatives of who they are in Christ, and then the outflow of Christ in them is faith, hope, and love. 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:26.720 And I love the picture of just grace overflowing when Jesus is divine, when they are focused on him and not on themselves. 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:29.519 Verses four and five. 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:47.919 For we know, brothers, loved by God, that he has chosen you, 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 prove to be among you for your sake. 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:53.039 Paul again reminds them that they were chosen by God. 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:54.799 This wasn't an accident. 00:11:54.960 --> 00:11:57.039 They were chosen by their creator. 00:11:57.600 --> 00:12:02.639 And he reminds them also that the good news is not just the word of man. 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:07.279 It wasn't just good advice, it wasn't just people delivering some information. 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:11.600 It came through the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:16.000 And the power of the Holy Spirit is not something that we really talk about a lot. 00:12:16.159 --> 00:12:19.919 I think mostly because it's hard to get our hands around, it's hard to control. 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:23.200 And I want to talk about that a little bit, but don't get nervous. 00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:25.759 Like B team Brian, I'm not gonna come up here with snakes. 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:29.519 Like, we I do want to just talk about the importance of it. 00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:40.720 Um, so Jesus tells the disciples before he's crucified, um, it is actually to your advantage that I leave so that the Spirit can come into you. 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:46.000 Uh John 16, 7, this is Jesus speaking to his disciples. 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:56.240 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. 00:12:56.399 --> 00:12:59.600 But if I go, I will send him to you. 00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:07.600 Would you rather have Jesus sitting right next to you or the Holy Spirit living inside of you? 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:28.799 I know there are a lot of times in my life where I've lost a loved one, or I'm just trying to make a decision where I would much rather have, or I think I would much rather have Jesus sitting right next to me, and I think what this reveals to me is I I drastically underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:32.960 Um, and I believe as believers, we have that inside of us. 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:37.840 Um I love the story of Les Miserables. 00:13:37.919 --> 00:13:43.200 Uh it's a musical that was made into a movie, it's one of my favorite movies. 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:47.679 Uh and the most recent one, some people has Hugh Jackman in Russell Crowe. 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:50.240 Some people said they didn't like watching Russell Crowe sing. 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:51.440 I can understand that. 00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:55.840 But he he has a lot of credit for me from Gladiator, so I tolerated all that. 00:13:56.080 --> 00:14:07.919 Um but it begins with a pretty powerful story of grace that I have not seen in a movie before, and its effect on a man that didn't deserve it. 00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:27.440 So the story is about a man named Jean Valjean, and he was a prisoner for 20 years, and he had stolen a loaf of bread and got put in jail in France, and so um over time, eventually he was released from jail, but he has this yellow parole paper that identifies him as an ex-con. 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:41.600 So he gets out of jail and he's trying to find basically where he can go and make a living and eat and sleep, but no one will give him a job because he's an ex-con and no one wants to hire him. 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:54.399 So finally, after days of kind of wandering, he finds a priest that lets him in, and the priest offers him food and shelter. 00:14:54.639 --> 00:15:05.360 And in the middle of the night, Jean Valjean wakes up after enjoying this meal and shelter, and basically he decides, I'm gonna steal from this guy. 00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:09.600 And he steals a bunch of silver from the priest from the church and takes off. 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:21.519 And in the middle of the night, the police find him, they bring him back to the priest, and they say to the priest, hey, this guy said that he that you told him he could have all this silver. 00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:24.960 And the priest looks at him and says, Actually, I did. 00:15:25.039 --> 00:15:26.240 I did the priest lies. 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:27.840 He said, I told him he could have it all. 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:30.879 In fact, he left, the most valuable things were the candlesticks. 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:32.320 He left the candlesticks. 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:37.039 And Jean Valjean takes the candlesticks and he's pretty overwhelmed. 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:42.080 The the emotion of just shame and surprise. 00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:48.720 And the next kind of song that he sings is to me unmistakably Christian. 00:15:48.799 --> 00:15:58.480 He talks about by the passion and the blood, and he talks about how could this man forgive me for what I did to him? 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:04.159 Like he gave me shelter and I stole from him, and he still forgave me. 00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:19.200 And then in the crescendo of this song that he's singing, he takes his parole papers and rips them up, and he's standing in a graveyard, and he throws them up in the air, and he becomes a new man. 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:29.679 And I think it's a metaphor for what happens to us when we are made new at salvation, when we are a new creation. 00:16:29.840 --> 00:16:35.120 The old Adam is dead, and the new Adam is alive in Jandaljan. 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:39.440 And I think that message has power. 00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:50.960 The message of we are loved as we are, not as we should be, because none of us are as we should be, creates um just change and power in our hearts. 00:16:51.840 --> 00:16:53.759 Let's go to verse 6. 00:16:54.000 --> 00:17:03.679 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. 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:08.240 So Paul is reminding them that they were once lost. 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:14.480 They were going through much affliction, but they had the joy of the Spirit. 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:46.160 I think we all know that as believers our joy kind of ebbs and flows in life, but I think that question can be helpful to turn back to things that are actually true of us, usually when we are not feeling that we are inwardly bound or inwardly focused. 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:59.759 Um I think a great place to start is the indicatives of Scripture, like even First Thessalonians chapter one, um, and just just kind of meditating on what God says is true of us. 00:18:00.960 --> 00:18:09.839 Verses 7 and 8, um, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaeah. 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:22.880 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 not we need not say anything. 00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:31.759 And again, Paul is just reminding them that their faith had big impacts throughout that whole area of the world. 00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:33.759 Verses nine and ten. 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:52.079 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, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:58.960 Again, Paul is reminding them that their faith created this kind of counter-cultural action. 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:04.880 Um, they were turning away from things that they used to depend on to give them value. 00:19:05.359 --> 00:19:08.319 And he reminds them also to wait for Jesus. 00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:14.400 Um, God had raised his son from the dead, and he tells them that Jesus is coming back. 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:23.039 In conclusion, um, Paul planted this church, and over two books he wrote them eight chapters. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:26.640 What did he want to get across in these eight chapters? 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:32.880 Well, I think it's telling that he doesn't start these books with instructions. 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:35.519 Uh, he begins with reminders. 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:37.759 Um why is that? 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:43.039 Well, Elise Fitzpatrick, an author, says we all have spiritual amnesia. 00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:46.400 We forget what is actually true about us. 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:53.680 Martin Luther says, I preach the gospel every week because I forget it every week. 00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:55.440 So, what about you? 00:19:55.599 --> 00:19:57.599 Like, where does this resonate with you? 00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:00.079 Where does this connect with you? 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:07.119 Well, we believe, and I believe, that Jesus came to heal broken hearts and set captives free. 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:23.839 And I want to encourage you, just as the last thing I say, to think about this statement individually, not in a group, but I want to encourage you individually that you have been loved and chosen by your Creator in Christ. 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:31.440 You are seen and forgiven, and you are known in your darkest place, but fully loved. 00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:33.599 Let me pray for us. 00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:43.279 Heavenly Father, I thank you that that is true for us today, and I pray that we would remember it throughout the week. 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:45.680 Thank you for your grace. 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:56.319 Thank you for sending your son, and I pray that um when we think about these things and pray on these things and meditate on these things, that that would give us some peace. 00:20:56.880 --> 00:20:59.119 We pray all of these things in your son's name. 00:20:59.279 --> 00:20:59.759 Amen.