Spiritual Fruit

Our prayer for our time together in the study of 1 Thessalonians is that we get some opportunities

! to be real with one another about where we are.

So that we take the truths of the scripture and we don't just banter them around and discuss

the accuracy of our interpretation but that we take what we know and we actually put it to work.

That's why we exist. We exist to be representatives of Jesus, not just to know what he says but to

actually put it to work in our lives. And I think that's what's kind of refreshing to be honest with

you when I look at this church of Thessalonica. I mean, we're talking about a church that is brand

new. Paul is, it was only there for just a few weeks. We don't know exactly how long but he talks

about in Acts chapter 17 that he only preached there for three weeks in the synagogue and then

Acts 17 · chapter mention

through the course of events was kind of propelled out of the city. In about six to ten months, maybe

a year later, he writes this letter to this church. So they're no more than a year old at this point.

And yet, here is a church that we can learn something from. This infant fledgling church

has something to say to you. This infant fledgling church has this fresh zeal for Jesus

that has absolutely transformed everything about their lives. Now certainly they're growing in their

faith. They're growing in their knowledge but they're putting it to work. And that's what I want

for my life and I'm sure that's what you want in your life as well. You want to be a person who knows

the truth and reflects that truth to others around you. I want to point you to just a couple of things

that we're going to be looking at through the course of this study. And in a couple of weeks from now,

we're going to concentrate on the last part of chapter one. But I want to just point you there

briefly for just a moment. Beginning in verse eight of chapter one. First Thessalonians chapter one,

verse eight. If you're a guest with us this morning, it's on page 986 in the pew in front of you.

I want you to see how transformational this church was. It says,

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 need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning

us the kind of reception we had among you and how you turn to God from idols to serve the living

and true God. Now when you think about the church and you think about the kind of impact

that you want the church to have, you think that's a little how you would describe it? You want all of

Columbus and perhaps all of Ohio to know and to recognize the wonder of the gospel so that no

person is unaffected by that message and the testimony that you have had in their life because of this

Christ-exalting change that's taken place for you?

Then if you turn to chapter four, you can begin to see this coming again.

Chapter four, verse nine says this,

Now concerning brotherly love, you have no need for anyone to write to you.

For you yourselves have been taught to God to love one another, for

that indeed is what you are doing

to all the brothers throughout Macedonia.

I mean, can you get it?

Let's not forget,

this church is only a year old

and it is having this kind of impact.

The little truth they knew,

they embraced.

And what they embraced was so distinctive

that the entire region of Macedonia and Achaia

had at least heard the message of Jesus.

And all of the brothers and sisters in that entire region

had been affected in some way

by the outpouring of love from this church.

This just blows me away.

Because, frankly,

I don't know that many people here,

even in the other end of Trebu Road,

knows that Maranatha exists.

It could be.

But what about the churches in Worthington?

What about the brothers and sisters who are in Toledo?

Is there the kind of impact

that God is having for you personally

that begins to affect the world around you?

It begins here.

And then God begins to work the change in your life

to begin to affect the people who see you.

Because they're not seeing you anymore.

They're beginning to see Christ in you.

That's what we're working towards.

That's what we want.

And that's, by the way,

what Paul begins to commend here

at the very outset of this letter.

Because if you remember where Paul was

before coming to Thessalonica,

he was in Philippi.

And you know what happened in Philippi.

Things were not very happy in Philippi.

At least not towards the end.

Paul and Silas were beaten

for a service they did

to this slave girl

in casting out a demon.

And because the owners of this slave girl

were no longer profiting off of her,

they made an appeal

and made a complaint

and they were beaten and thrown in prison.

That didn't seem to faze Paul and Silas.

Their backs bloodied

in this prison cell.

And what do they do?

They sing.

They sing and praise the Lord

and the Holy Spirit shakes

the prison doors off their hinges.

And a revival begins

with the prison guard

and his entire family.

But as a result,

Paul and Silas and Timothy

have to make their way

now to the next city.

And they come their way

to Thessalonica

and things in Thessalonica

aren't a whole lot better

than they were in Philippi.

This entire region

was experiencing

a lot of the same upheaval.

And so for the church

of Thessalonica

who was just beginning

in their comprehension

of the truth of the gospel

is experiencing

as a fledgling church

some significant persecution.

So what does the heart

of a pastor

do

to encourage himself

when he knows

the difficulties

that are in store

for these people

he's begun to love

and he knows

the potential

for disruption

of faith

to take place?

How does he encourage

his heart?

What does he point

his attention to?

What does he begin

to emphasize

and to draw out?

Well we see that here

in chapter 1

verses 1 to 3

and that's where

we want to concentrate

our attention

this morning

because these

three words

these three

characteristics

are not only

the core characteristics

of every believer

but these are the things

that he carries along

through the course

of the rest of this letter

and begins to help shape

and direct their attention

to why these things

are important for them

as a body.

Let me read this for us

and we'll begin

in our study this morning.

Paul, Silvanus,

and Timothy

to the church

of Thessalonica

in God the Father

in the Lord Jesus Christ

grace to you

and peace.

We give thanks

to God always

for all of you

constantly mentioning you

in our prayers

remembering before

our God and Father

your work of faith

and labor of love

and steadfastness

of hope

in our Lord Jesus Christ.

If you're looking

at the back

you can easily

fill in the outline

as you read

through these verses

it's very clear

where we're going

in the flow

of this study.

And it'd be easy

for us just to

talk about

the significance

of work

excuse me

the work of faith

and labor of love

and steadfastness

of hope.

We know about faith

hope and love.

Paul identifies

these as kind of

the core component

of every true believer.

In 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13

he says

now abides faith

hope

love

these three

but the greatest

of these is love.

We recognize

that these are

the main components

that should

represent

every true believer.

But I want to

step through them

one at a time today.

I want us

to take

some moments

not just to know

what the truths

are

but maybe a bit

different than what

we've done

in the past

I want to give you

some time

to actually think

it through

for yourself.

How does God

want you to be

a more faithful

person?

But let's look

at this together.

First I want to talk

about the fruit

of faith.

I want to talk

about the fruit

of faith.

He begins here

by mentioning

this work

of faith.

Now what should

be going through

your mind

immediately

the first question

that should come

to your mind

is wait a second

time out

work of faith?

What does he

mean by that?

Because I know

there are at least

a couple of verses

in the other parts

of the scripture

that would also

use some same

language and say

that work and

faith don't go

together.

Right?

And we understand

the continuity

of the scripture.

We understand

that the scripture

does not contradict

each other.

So we have to

begin to appreciate

and understand

the flow of

what's taking place

here in the context

of the rest

of the scripture.

We can only come

to appreciate

and understand

what the Bible

says as we

compare scripture

to scripture.

So what two

verses would

come to your

mind about

faith and works?

Probably Ephesians

Ephesians 2:8

chapter 2

verses 8 and 9

which says

for by grace

are you saved

through faith

and that not

of your works

it's a gift

of God

excuse me

let me go back

for by grace

you say through

faith and that

not of yourselves

it is the gift

of God

not of works

so that no one

can boast.

So what do we

find out about

this?

Faith stands

alone.

It comes

only

through the

grace of God

as a gift

to those

who believe

in Jesus Christ

for salvation.

There is no

merit

there is no

worthiness

in us

there's nothing

that we can do

to achieve

God's favor

to get

or receive

God's favor

in any way.

It is

only

the grace

of God

to us.

Now a

companion

verse to that

is in Titus

Titus 3:5

chapter 3

verse 5

which says

not by works

of righteousness

which you have

done

but according

to his mercy

he saved us

by the washing

of regeneration

and renewing

of the Holy Ghost.

Now

you may be

asking yourself

the question

okay well

it's the same

English word

but maybe

it's a different

Greek word

that's there.

Well

I wish I could

say it was

that would

make things

really easy

but it's not.

It's the same

Greek word

ergon

that we find

in all three

verses here

in 1 Thessalonians

and those two

as well.

So what are we

talking about?

When we talk

about the work

of faith

what are we

referring to?

Well the

Greek word

itself

actually

only refers

to a deed

or an act

an activity.

We might

say that it

is

it's a walk

it's not

necessarily a process

but it is

the expression

of true faith

in a life.

Paul uses it

in 1 Thessalonians

a couple of times

when he talks

about work.

At the end

of 1 Thessalonians

he talks about

esteem them

speaking of

your leaders

very highly

in love

because of

their work

referring specifically

to their deed

their activity

what they do

in terms of

labor for

the church.

So to bring

this together

what is

Paul talking

about when he

is referring

to the work

of faith?

What he is

referring to

is the

evidence

of true

faith

showing up

in your life

and bearing

witness

of what you

truly believe.

In Hebrews

Hebrews 11:1

chapter 11

verse 1

we find

now faith

is the evidence

of things

not seen.

Faith

your true

faith

shows up

in how you

live.

Now we

spend a lot

of time

in 1 John

talking about

that.

We use

the phrase

you are

what you

believe

and what

I mean

by that

is not

that you

can just

believe

anything

you can

believe

that you

can be

a Christian

and do

all of

these other

things.

That's not

what I'm

talking about.

What I'm

talking about

is there's

a difference

between

what your

confession

of faith

is

and what

you truly

believe

because it

will actually

work its

way out

in true

living.

What you

truly believe

will show

up in

how you

live.

It's

inescapable.

And that's

what Paul

is talking

about here.

There is

a component

of faith

a true

component

of faith

that showed

up in

their life

that produced

something

that was

only

possible

because of

God's work

in their

life.

we find

from another

source in

James,

not talking

about Paul

anymore,

but now

in the

book of

James,

we find

that faith

without works

is dead.

And now

we're beginning

to understand

that faith

does create

a measure

of action

in our

life.

That just

because you

have a

certain belief

system,

just because

you have a

certain doctrine

doesn't mean

that you

actually live

your life

according to

that doctrine.

How many

of us

believe in

the sovereignty

of God?

We know

that God

is always

present

with this

omnipresence

of God

in the

sovereignty

of God

in terms

of his

lordship

of my

life.

I ascribe

those truths

but then

how often

in a given

week,

even though

I know

that God

is there,

there is

still this

rebellion

in my

heart

in

relationship

to my

surroundings.

Or there's

anxiety in

my heart

about what's

taking place.

Do I really

believe that

he's sovereign?

Well,

I'm working

to grow

in my

knowledge

of who

God is

and committing

that to my

life but

so often

there is

a disconnect

from my

confession of

faith in

what I

actually

demonstrate

as the

fruit of

my life

as a

result of

faith.

I want

to just

point out

for our

benefit

the verses

in 1 Thessalonians

that point

to faith

to see

how

important

this subject

was to

the Apostle

Paul.

We see

it,

of course,

here in

verse 3.

But we

also see

it in

chapter 1

verse 8.

Notice

what he

says towards

the end.

He says,

your faith

towards God

has gone

out so

that we

do not

need to

say anything.

Now,

how does

doctrine go

out?

Well,

it doesn't.

That's what

we're talking

about.

But what

they truly

believed

showed up

so remarkably

in their

life that

all the

people could

talk about

was,

have you

seen the

church

of

Thessalonica?

It's

amazing

what God

has done.

Which

pointed to

the

foundation

of faith

that they

had,

that led

them to

a certain

activity.

It was

visible

because it

produced

action in

their life.

Chapter 3,

verses 2

and 5

and 6

and 7

and 10

all talk

about the

significance

of faith.

Paul is

concerned about

this church

because he

knows the

adversity that

they're

confronted with

and so he

sends Timothy

to find out

about their

faith

and to

encourage

them to

grow in

their faith.

faith.

And when

he hears

about their

true faith

and Timothy

brings a

report back,

this letter

is the

outflow of

his enthusiasm.

He is

bubbling

with excitement

because of

the testimony

of Timothy

and the

faith that

has produced

action in

the lives

of this

church.

And perhaps

the verse

that we could

go to for

faith,

hope,

and love

in this

little epistle

is in

chapter 5

verse 8.

Let me read

that for us.

1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 5:8

chapter 5

verse 8.

Let those,

excuse me,

but let us

who are of

the day

be sober,

putting on

the breast

plate of

faith

and love

and as a

helmet

the hope

of salvation.

not only

is faith,

love,

and hope

the beginnings

of your

experience

in relationship

with God

but it is

also the

thing that

will protect

you and

arm you

against

the dangers

you will

face in

the Christian

life.

So let's

begin to

talk in

practicality.

How does

God want

to refine

your faith

today?

What is

the evidence

of faith

in your

life?

As we

will begin

to or

continue to

look throughout

1 Thessalonians

and as we

are going to

be encouraged

to see

how Paul

sent Timothy

to go

help refine

and strengthen

the faith

of this church,

we are

struck with

the fact

that faith

must grow

in every

Christian

life.

Faith

cannot

be

stagnant.

So,

how does

God want

to increase

your faith

tomorrow?

What is

God speaking

into your

life that

he wants

to change

today?

How has

God been

trying to

get your

attention?

Maybe over

the past

couple of

weeks,

maybe over

the past

couple of

months,

as you've

been reading

the scriptures,

as you've

been spending

time in

prayer,

God has

been tapping

your shoulder

and trying

to inform

your heart

that something

must change

about you.

And up to

this point,

for whatever

reason,

either it's

not been

convenient or

it's just

not felt

very necessary,

you've put

it off.

God can't

walk us

and step

us into

the next

area of

faith until

we begin

to be

obedient in

the initial

steps.

How does

God want

to refine

your faith

today?

What is

that next

step?

How is

he trying

to realign

your priorities?

How is

he trying

to move

you to

courage?

How is

he trying

to help

relieve

those fears

that you

have,

those pressures

that mount

from day

to day?

How does

he want

to move

you to

action?

The process

of putting

off and

putting on.

Well,

perhaps one

of the reasons

why it's

difficult to

maybe even

hear God's

voice is

because we're

just not in

tune with

him.

I found

that to be

true in

my own

life so

many times.

Is the

tempter,

the evil

one,

the adversary

of your

soul,

is he

coming in

the way

of you

listening to

the voice

of God?

Are there

areas of

your life

where you

know there

are clear

mandates

that you're

just ignoring?

Sin that

has settled

in and you've

become comfortable

with and you've

decided,

I just enjoy

this a bit

too much

right now.

Well,

that will

certainly

deafen the

voice of

God in

your heart.

Perhaps

you are not

in community

with God's

people on a

regular basis

as you should.

And what

we'll find

throughout

scripture is

God uses

his people

to often

speak through

his word

to us.

And one

of the

outlets of

that for

us is the

small group

experience.

And so I'm

encouraged that

this church

has the

small group

so that we

can grow

in relationship

and we

can stir

one another

up to love

and good

deeds.

There is

accountability.

There is

conversation.

There is

perhaps

sometimes

confrontation

that happens

there.

But it's

all a

grace to

you and a

grace to

me when

that happens.

We've got

to move

from the

step of

knowing to

the step

of acting.

how does

God want

to grow

your faith

today?

He doesn't

end there.

He's

delighted not

only by

their faith.

He is not

only ecstatic

about what

he sees in

terms of

authentic

genuine

faith but

that faith

is reinforced

with love.

He says

their work

of faith

and their

labor

of love.

So now

we move

to the

fruit

of love.

What does

that look

like?

How does

that show

up?

Well when

he uses

this word

labor he's

referring to

work and

trouble and

difficulty.

It is often

associated with

striking and

beating of

the breasts,

wailing and

grieving.

It's used

to denote

not so much

the actual

exertion but

the weariness

that is

involved in

the process.

Have you

ever felt

weary in

love?

Is love

work for

you?

Oh man.

Love is

work isn't

it?

And love

is messy

sometimes.

Love gets

complicated at

times.

And I

think so

often in

my own

life I'm

just

scratching the

surface when

it comes to

what real

love looks

like.

Because I'm

not getting

to the

place where

Jesus is

talking about

in the

Sermon on

the Mount

where he

says love

your enemies,

do good to

those who

persecute you,

pray for

them who

despitefully

use you.

I mean I'm

not there

yet.

I'm having

a hard enough

time at the

introductory

process of

just loving

the people

around me.

even sometimes

loving the

people in

my own

family.

Because love

is hard.

But somehow

this church

however new

they were,

however immature

they were in

their understanding

of the

scripture,

what they

knew they

put to

work.

So that he

can make this

statement in

chapter 4.

That all the

brothers in

Macedonia have

been affected

in some

way by

their love.

That is

incomprehensible

to me.

But by the

way, Paul

wasn't satisfied

even with that

amount of

love.

Because he

commands their

love to

abound more

and more.

So what are

we talking

about when we

talk about

true Christian

love?

Well we've

spent a lot

of time in

1 John talking

about love,

haven't we?

Let me just

for the sake

of reminder,

I want to

tell you what

love is not

like.

Because our

world has a

warped view

of love.

Their love

is temporary.

Their love

is conditional.

Their love

is fickle.

It kind of

comes and

goes as it

pleases.

Their love

is self-serving.

It has

its own

purposes in

mind.

As long as

my needs

are met,

my feelings

aren't hurt,

then there's

an appropriate

give and

take.

But when

that ends,

then my

love for

you is

gone.

Only up to

a point where

I decide

to love

you.

The world's

love is

willing to

sever.

It's willing

to cut off.

It's willing

to dissociate

oneself

from others.

It holds

grudges.

It's bitter.

It's unwilling

to forgive.

forgive.

The world's

love gets

even.

You hurt

me and

I'll get

you back.

The world's

love angles

for position.

How does

this relationship

get me where

I want to

go?

How does

it fill a

supposed need

that I have

for myself?

But that's

not the kind

of love that

we found in

1 John,

is it?

That kind

of love is

a love that

pursues.

It's a love

that initiates.

It's a love

that goes

after it.

It takes

the first

step.

It's a love

that endures.

We find

love suffers

long and is

kind.

We find in

the scripture

that love

covers a

multitude

of sins.

We also

know that

love seeks

the best.

It looks

for the best

in others.

It seeks

to identify

what is

truly good

about another

individual.

That's what

I love about

the apostle

Paul, by

the way.

I mean,

how is it

that he

opens this

letter and

the expression

of his

heart is

one of

thanksgiving

for this

church that

is certainly

dysfunctional

in many ways.

And yet,

in the opening

phrase,

you would

never know

it because

he says,

we give

thanks to

God always

for you.

It is just

the overwhelming

expression of

our thoughts

towards you,

our thanksgiving.

He was

able to

be thankful

because he

saw God

in them.

He saw

true faith.

He saw

true love.

And he sees

this steadfastness

of hope that

we'll get to

in just a

moment here.

And because

he saw

God in

them,

he knew

that they

were secure.

And he knew

that God

had it

covered.

That God

had begun

a good work

in them,

he would

complete it.

So,

how about

us?

Are you

really good

at pointing

out the

flaws in

other

individuals?

Or are you

good at

affirming

the best?

That's hard,

isn't it?

But that's

what godly

love does.

It looks

for and

identifies and

affirms the

good in

others.

Love

serves.

The Son

of Man

came to

serve and

not to

be served,

but to

give a

life as

a ransom

for many.

I was

talking to

somebody the

other day

who is

in a

situation,

not where

necessarily

the people

that they're

interacting

with is

hard,

but that

they are

always giving

away.

There's

always an

expending

of self.

There's

never a

filling up.

There's

no sense

of others

pouring back

in what

has been

depleted

from them.

That

makes love

very difficult

too.

Those

of you

who are

stay-at-home

moms or

those of

you who

are single

parents,

those of

you who

are the

only

believers

in your

family,

you know

something

about giving

and giving

and giving

and giving

and giving

and giving

with very

little or

nothing

coming back.

but that

is the

true heart

of love

because

as our

Savior

loved,

there's

always this

expression of

to serve.

I am

here to

serve you

and I

will then

trust God

that he

will give

me what I

need

because my

God shall

supply all

my needs

according to

his riches

and glory

in Christ

Jesus.

Do you

believe that?

We give lip

service to that

truth so many

times but when

it comes to

actually showing

up to

expend self

time and time

again,

sometimes we

just say,

I just need

some help

here.

And I

think that's

a legitimate

desire but

but who do

we look for

to fill the

tanks when

the reservoir

has gone

dry?

We must

look to

Christ.

So what is

the evidence

of love

in your

life?

How does

God want

to refine

your love

today?

Maybe

like me,

God has

to begin

to work

a little

prejudice out

of your

heart.

Maybe God

has to

create in

you a

burden for

the lost.

A deeper

sense of

love for

the people

who don't

know Christ

around you.

By the

way, you

can pray for

us because

Sarah and I

tonight are

going to be

going to a

Muslim wedding.

So that will

be an

experience.

And I

pray that

God uses

that experience

to continue

to grow

us in our

relationships

with our

neighbors

and to

give us

a greater

tenderness

to that

group of

individuals.

As we

seek to

move

into places

that are

uncomfortable,

then we can

trust that God

will help to

cultivate in us

what we see

is missing.

But only

when we

walk in

obedience

and we let

him work.

That's the only

way it's going

to happen.

when God

speaks to

your heart

that you

say,

your will

be done.

Finally,

the fruit

of hope.

The fruit

of hope.

We see

that here.

The steadfastness

of hope

in our Lord

Jesus Christ.

Steadfastness

is the word

for endurance

or perseverance.

It's in

contrast to

the word

for patience

or long

suffering.

This word

is associated

with hope

and refers

to the

quality

of character

which does

not allow

one to

surrender

to circumstances

or succumb

under trial.

This is the

word of

endurance.

The word

of somebody

who is going

to go

the distance

no matter

the cost.

It's not

that you're

putting up

with the

hardship

around you

but there

is a

resoluteness

about you.

I am

seeing this

through

and I

am relying

on the

strength

of God

to carry

me

to the

finish line.

It's only

found here

in 1 Thessalonians

but it's

used extensively

through all

of Paul's

letters.

This was

a significant

quality

that Paul

repeatedly

points to.

He does

refer to hope

on numerous

occasions

things

in 1 Thessalonians

and I

want us

to understand

that when

the Bible

talks about

hope

it's not

talking about

a wish

it's not

talking about

a possibility

it's not

talking about

oh there

might be a

chance

that something

might happen

no when

the Bible

is talking

about hope

it's talking

about certain

expectancy.

I know

this will

happen

because I

know

the God

who has

made this

promise

and I'm

just going

to wait

for him

in his

timing

to accomplish

his purposes

in this

situation.

It may

not necessarily

be for my

benefit

at least

not my

temporary

benefit

but it

may have

future

benefit

to the

kingdom

and I'm

okay with

that.

I want

to be used

of God

and trust

him

in difficulty

to accomplish

his purposes

in his way.

So what

is the

evidence

of hope

in your

life?

Is there

a steadfastness?

Is there

a hanging

on to

God?

A looking

to him

for answers

to the

deep

questions

of your

life

and trusting

that he

has the

future

locked in

and you

don't have

to know

all of

the answers

but that

you can

trust

in the

one answer

that matters

and that

is that

God

has it

under

control

and that

he will

give you

the strength

to overcome?

Are there

anxieties

in your

life?

Are there

fears?

Is there

a working

the system

because there's

a bit of

impatience

for you?

You've been

waiting a long

time but God

hasn't seemed

to show up

yet and so

you need to