Encouragement for All of Life

It is so good to be here with you guys.

Just a wonderful privilege to bring God's Word this morning.

And I'm just, already my heart is full just worshiping with you guys

and watching what God's doing in your Trinity Cambridge Church.

And I want to look at this passage this morning, 1 Thessalonians 1-10.

And the title of the message is Encouragement for the Weary Christian.

This is a wonderful book on encouragement.

The first three chapters are just jam-packed, full of encouragement.

And as we dive into this chapter, I just want to ask you the question,

have you ever considered the importance of encouragement?

Have you ever thought about the importance of encouragement?

Back in 1895, a 16-year-old boy bought his first camera.

He took 50 photos, and of those 50 photos, only one turned out.

It was a portrait of his sister at the piano.

The other 49 pictures didn't work, and his father's response to him was,

well, son, maybe you need to take up another hobby.

But his mother saw something in that one photo that made a difference.

That one photo of his sister was so beautiful that she said it compensated for the 49 failures,

and encouraged him to go on and keep pursuing his hobby of photography.

This young boy's name was Edward.

You might know him as Edward Steichen,

probably, arguably, the most successful and famous photographer of the 20th century.

He worked for Condé Nast, Vogue, and Vénédie Faire.

He won an Academy Award for a war documentary in 1945,

and he was the director of photography at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

But he almost missed all that if it hadn't been for his mother's encouragement.

His mother's encouragement made all the difference.

This letter is a letter full of powerful encouragement for a weary church and weary Christians.

Paul has been with the Thessalonians some time previously,

and his time with them was cut short.

He had to leave.

There was persecution that went on.

It was a very successful time,

so in proclaiming the good news of Christ,

the truth of Christ crucified on the cross for our sins and risen from the dead,

so he had been with the Thessalonians and had brought the gospel, him and his team,

and it had had an effect.

So there were people from Jewish backgrounds and non-Jewish backgrounds

who had come to faith in Christ.

A church had been formed,

and within a relatively short amount of time,

we don't know whether it was three weeks or three months,

there was an angry mob, basically an anti-Christian mob,

that was raised up and drove Paul out of the city,

so he had to leave prematurely.

And so part of the background is that he's wondering how this church has been doing.

He's worried about them, actually.

You can read through the letter and see some of his angst.

And what he does is he can't stand it,

and he sends Timothy back to find out how they're doing.

Then Timothy is with them,

and then he comes back to Paul

and tells them that this church is doing well.

And that's when Paul writes this letter.

He writes this letter to them to encourage them,

to strengthen them in their faith,

because they're living really amidst persecution and challenge.

And so he spends three chapters here really just encouraging this church.

And so what I want to do is I want to dig into this first chapter

to learn about how he encourages the church.

I think there are some valuable lessons here in how to encourage.

And I think with it, it's just the importance of encouragement.

So this isn't here in Scripture just so we can learn about Paul

and how much he loved this church

and how much he wanted to encourage them.

God gives us his word for our instruction.

And he gives us his word today,

and he is bringing his word through 1 Thessalonians 1

to you guys, to us as a church.

And I think through it wants to teach us

about the importance of encouragement

and actually equip us to encourage.

So we're going to dig in.

And I hope from this we learn

that we're called to encourage our brothers and sisters

by reminding them of God's activity in their lives.

We are called to encourage our brothers and sisters

by reminding them of God's activity in their lives.

And so we'll look at four things in this chapter.

We remind them of evidences of faith, hope, and love.

So these core virtues.

We remind them of the evidence that God loves and chooses them.

So chosen by God.

We remind them of evidence of godly character.

And we remind them of the impact of their lives

on others, compelling lives.

So four C's, core virtues, chosen by God,

character, and compelling lives,

if that helps you remember them.

And good, we have them behind us.

I didn't even know you had that.

So let's dig in.

First, Paul highlights core virtues.

We see this in verse 3.

He greets them, and there's a blessing there.

And then he, that's certainly a common way to start a letter.

But then he goes from that place,

and in his greeting, in his blessing,

he's highlighting the grace and peace of God.

And he is communicating to them

that he gives thanks to God always.

The whole team does.

Gives thanks to God always for all of them,

constantly mentioning them in their prayers.

This is strategic.

Paul is not just repeating how he prays.

He wants them to know and be encouraged

that he prays and gives thanks for them.

He's communicating that.

It's his heart for this church to give thanks to them,

give thanks to God for them.

And he cites certain specific qualities about them.

And just to pause for a minute and think about that.

It's encouraging to know that people pray for you.

I'm sure for us, we tell each other that.

At times you've had someone say, I'm praying for you.

And when you're going through a hard time,

that can be really helpful, right?

To know, boy, this person's praying for me.

It just builds your faith.

You don't feel as alone.

But can you imagine to add to that,

that someone says, not only do I pray for you,

but actually I give thanks to God for your life.

When I think of you and your needs,

I can't help but think of the qualities in your life

that demonstrate God's activity.

I can't help but think about your faith.

I can't help but think about,

as you're going through this trial,

that you're looking to Jesus.

That's an incredible thing.

And I'm thanking God for that.

Think about adding that element

when you share with somebody

that you're praying for them,

that you're actually giving thanks to God for them

for certain qualities.

Think about the power of doing that for somebody

that maybe you struggle with.

Maybe there's someone, a brother or sister in Christ,

who, as you relate to them,

you're just challenged by certain things.

Maybe just personality.

You rub each other the wrong way certain ways,

and you have to work through that.

Or maybe there was something that, in the past,

it was difficult for you.

Imagine the difference it would make to pray for them,

and not only pray for them,

but to give thanks to God for them as you pray.

To spend time highlighting how you see God

at work in their lives,

thanking God for that.

I think that would change our heart,

wouldn't it, towards them?

It would help us to have a different perspective,

to think about the good things

rather than the challenging things in their lives.

So that alone, just Paul's example

right in the beginning,

is, I think, really important,

and practicing that can make a real difference

in our lives.

But Paul, in this,

goes on to cite specific things in their lives

as he thinks about them,

as he prays for them,

as he gives thanks for them.

He's remembering before our God and Father

your work of faith,

and labor of love,

and steadfastness of hope

in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you hear those three Christian virtues there?

Paul uses these virtues often.

Faith, hope, and love.

These are qualities,

characteristics of the Christian life.

They are virtues,

and they're really, in some ways,

indicative of real life.

When the Lord works in somebody,

when there's real life,

when they hear the good news of Christ,

they understand that Christ died for their sins

and rose again to give new life,

and when they have an encounter with God

in light of that gospel,

there's new life that comes into us,

and there's faith in that,

and there's fruit from that.

There's faith and hope and love.

And so Paul is pointing out God's activity

in their lives,

this work of faith,

labor of love,

and steadfastness of hope.

Now, we don't know what the specific things

that Paul was thinking about

as he thought about those general qualities,

those virtues,

but we can guess.

We can guess that in their lives,

there's a work of faith,

because we know that when there's faith

in someone's life,

there's always work that comes out of that.

When you believe in Christ,

it isn't simply mental assent,

yes, this is true.

Biblical belief,

biblical faith is not just saying,

yes, I believe Christ is God in the flesh,

died on the cross for our sins,

rose again.

I not only assent to that,

it's more than that,

it's I embrace that.

I entrust my life to this truth.

I desire this truth.

So biblical faith is more than just mental assent,

it's embracing the truth,

and that encounter changes us,

and in that,

there's something different

and transforming about that,

and it produces automatically,

of course, work.

So there's a work of faith

for every genuine believer,

and so for the Thessalonians,

there were things that went on in their lives,

there was works of faith,

and no matter what that might be,

it's there in every believer.

Every believer has some sort of work of faith,

and it may be a work that's just amazing,

and everyone can see that this person,

you know,

they gave up a career,

a rich career,

to serve the Lord in some sacrificial way,

and they've laid down their lives,

they're laboring in a place

where it's just really hard,

and, you know,

there's not a whole lot of results,

but they're serving the Lord gladly.

There's those sorts of works of faith,

and they're wonderful,

but there are other works of faith

in believers that are just maybe little things

that we can look over.

Think of the thief on the cross.

The thief on the cross comes to faith in Christ

on the cross.

He doesn't have a whole long life ahead of him

to labor for the Lord, does he?

But there is a work of faith for him on the cross.

It's confessing with his mouth the truth about Jesus.

It's choosing not to mock Jesus,

but to put his faith and depend on Jesus.

So even just that expression of Jesus,

remember me when you enter your kingdom,

that's a work of faith.

And so I would just say with that,

every believer has a work of faith in their life

that you can point out.

And so Paul is pointing out in the Thessalonians

that there's a work of faith.

And so we can find works of faith in any believer

because if they believe, there's something there.

If it's just a confession of dependence on the Lord

or they're doing great works,

whatever it might be,

we can find ways to encourage them.

So their work of faith.

Their labor of love as well.

This church is loving one another.

Paul's going to talk about that later in the letter.

They are loving one another.

They are people that are coming from diverse backgrounds,

Jewish and Gentile backgrounds,

probably all different levels of economic strata in society.

And they are coming together and they're loving one another.

They're caring about one another.

They're helping one another.

They're affectionate for one another.

And so there's a labor of love in their lives

that he's pointing out.

And then there's a steadfastness of hope as well.

That they are hoping.

They are setting their hearts on the return of Christ,

the ultimate victory of Christ.

Not only that victory experienced now through faith and new life,

but the final victory when he returns

and he makes all things new.

And so they're living in light of that.

So that hope, that ultimate reality.

And when you learn to live in light of that,

it changes how you live in this life.

It gives you ability to hold on in difficulty.

It gives you the ability to endure persecution.

It gives you the ability to endure disappointments.

Disappointments of different times.

I, as a pastor, have been able to see a lot of people

demonstrate steadfastness of hope amidst very difficult circumstances.

Really consider one of my greatest privileges as a pastor

to be with people as they go through significant suffering

and to watch that hope that the Lord's put in their hearts

that sustains them.

And it doesn't always look perfect.

It's not that everyone I've been with has always been just,

I'm just so full of faith.

And I know God's going to work glory through this.

That's not what it looks like.

There's struggle.

There's ups and downs.

There's questioning of faith.

There's doubts.

But what I've seen in every genuine believer is this hope that sustains them.

I remember one young husband, and I'll never forget it,

a friend of mine who came with us when we started the church,

planted in 2002, John.

He got married, and he was excited about life,

building a family with his wife.

He actually talked about being on the first church plant

that we would send out.

He was hoping to go north.

He actually liked cold weather, so he wanted to somehow,

if we could plant northward.

Some of you guys are thinking,

that's not the direction I want to go in.

I want to go southward.

But he was excited about going north and being part of a plant.

He was just a great brother in the church, and he got cancer.

He was in his early 40s.

And we watched as we prayed.

We asked God to heal.

We had seen God heal someone with cancer in our church.

And so we asked God for John, and God didn't heal him.

And I was there in his last hours and days and last moments.

And he was disappointed.

He didn't want to die.

He wanted to live.

He had a lot to live for, a lot of things he was excited about that God would do.

But God sustained him in hope.

And though he couldn't figure it out,

he knew that ultimately I know God's good,

and I know God's plans are the best, even though I don't understand.

And so I was there with him,

and his last words he repeated over and over again,

really with his last breath,

is, it's better this way.

And I just remember that.

And that's a miracle.

To be in that place of suffering and really the loss of your dreams,

and to say and confess with your mouth,

it's better this way.

And it's a confession of faith.

I don't understand,

but I trust the Lord,

and my hope is in him.

That's the steadfastness of hope.

And that's a miracle.

That's a miracle of the Lord at work.

And brothers and sisters,

I want you all to know that

if you have put your faith in Jesus,

he lives in you,

and there's power in your life

to walk in faith and hope and love.

They're there.

There's a work of faith.

There's a labor of love.

There's steadfastness of hope in you.

That's there.

And so Paul is pointing it out to the Thessalonians.

He's encouraging them.

He's reminding them of his core virtues.

And we learn from that

how to encourage one another.

And so for us as brothers and sisters,

your brothers and sisters,

your friends need you to point those things out,

to remind them of how you see faith,

hope, and love in their lives,

to find something in their lives.

And if they're a believer,

it's there somewhere.

Even if it's just a tiny little thing,

it's there.

And as you encourage each other,

as you remind each other of that,

they're going to be strengthened.

Their faith, hope, and love

will be strengthened through your encouragement.

That's what Paul's doing here

as he encourages them

by reminding them of these core virtues.

Next, he reminds them

that they are chosen and beloved by God.

He says in verse 4,

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.

He's now pointing to the fact

that God loves them

and has chosen them.

And he wants to remind them of that.

He says,

We know, brothers,

brothers loved by God,

that he's chosen you.

So they are beloved by God

and they are chosen by God.

This is powerful encouragement

and really should be part

of our regular encouragement.

To know and to be reminded

that we are loved by God

and chosen.

Now, there's deep truth

in these realities,

being chosen of God.

We know as we read through Scripture

that God loves all people,

desires that all would know him.

But if someone doesn't come

to Christ through faith,

they can never live in that.

They never live in knowing

that he loves them,

and they cannot know

that he has loved them

from eternity.

It's the blessing

for the believer.

And the response

for the person

who's yet to believe is,

Well, if you want to know

that you're loved by God

and chosen of him,

then simply come and believe.

It's that simple.

God offers salvation

and his love

to whosoever should respond.

And so this truth

of being loved

and chosen from before time

and loved of God,

chosen before time

to belong to him,

is not meant to confound

and confuse people

who don't yet believe.

It's meant as a comfort

and encouragement

for those who do.

We don't know

who's going to believe.

We don't know

who's chosen ultimately

unless they've come to faith.

And if we see in their lives

the things that Paul sees,

the work of the Holy Spirit,

conviction and faith,

we can't say.

But if that's there,

we can say,

this one is loved

and chosen of God.

I've heard the illustration.

I think it's a helpful one.

There's a doorway

into the kingdom,

into heaven,

into belonging

to God's family.

And on the front

of the doorway

as you come from the outside,

it says,

whosoever would believe.

Whosoever.

And when you walk

through that doorway,

you look back

and on the other side

of the doorway,

it says,

chosen of God.

And so the invitation

for all is to believe.

But once you believe,

you can live

in the assurance

that you actually,

behind your believing,

behind your choice,

which is a valid choice,

God uses our choices,

they're real choices,

but behind that choice

is God's choice of you.

That God has loved you

from eternity

and he's chosen you.

That's powerful encouragement,

isn't it?

To know,

to know that he's loved me

and chose me

and I can stand on that.

I can stand on that

when I go up and down

in my experience,

I'm discouraged

and I'm not always

a faithful Christian.

As I face difficulty,

I can stand on the fact

that God has loved me

and chosen me.

That's what Paul's doing

with his friends

in Thessalonica.

He's reminding them

of this reality

that they are loved

and chosen of God.

The verification of that

is the fact that

when the good news

came to them,

it wasn't just words,

it wasn't just an idea,

it wasn't just a philosophy,

but it was something powerful

that it impacted their lives

and the Holy Spirit

worked in their lives

and brought conviction.

They realized,

this message

is not just a message,

it's the message for me.

And they believed.

And so behind this believing,

behind this experience,

is actually God at work.

It's God who has works

that they might believe.

Their belief,

their response,

their repentance,

the work of the Holy Spirit

in their lives

is a sign

that their beloved

and chosen of God.

That's a powerful encouragement.

It's a powerful encouragement

to know that,

boy, my faith,

as little as it seems at times

and as much as I might struggle,

actually is a miracle of God

that shows that God

has loved me from eternity

before I existed.

And He's chosen me.

He chose to rescue me in Jesus.

He's the one who chose

that I would hear this good news

and that I would believe

and respond.

Again, this meant as a comfort

and encouragement for believers

not to confuse

and confound those

who don't yet believe in Christ.

It's an encouragement here

in 1 Thessalonians.

That's what Paul's doing.

He's wanting to point this out

that they would be strengthened

by this,

that they would stand on this.

It's really amazingly good news.

I don't know if you guys

have followed

the Mega Millions recently.

And who here knows

what the Mega Millions,

you don't have to raise your hand

if you don't want to,

but Mega Millions,

so it's a state lottery,

but like in all the states,

I think, but two.

And recently,

it was $1.5 billion.

And someone in South Carolina

won it,

and yet they haven't

come forward yet.

They have, I think,

like until April

to come forward,

so I think they're putting together

financial consultants and stuff.

But $1.5 billion.

Can you imagine

being the person

who happens to have

that ticket?

And by the way,

I'm not suggesting

you go out and buy lottery tickets,

so don't hear what I'm not saying.

But imagine if you had that.

I don't know about you,

but I thought a little bit

about what if I were the one

that had $1.5 billion,

what would I do with it?

And I was thinking about

all sorts of godly,

glorious things,

just so you know,

what I would do with the money.

But it was just to think,

wow, $1.5 billion.

And to know that I'm,

like, I have the ticket.

Well, in Jesus,

because God has loved you

and chosen you,

you have something far greater

than $1.5 billion.

And it isn't one in 300 million.

You have been chosen by God

and every believer,

the countless number of believers

have been chosen by God

to have this inheritance.

And so you have it now.

You are loved of God.

You are chosen of God.

The God who's made

the whole universe,

whose resources are limitless,

has decided in his great love

and mercy to rescue you,

to make you his own.

That's encouraging.

And Paul's reminding them

of this truth.

And so we learn from this,

don't we?

That if we want to encourage others,

we remind each other

of this reality.

And just think of how helpful

that can be.

If somebody's struggling,

you just point out and say,

you know,

I know you're struggling,

I know you feel down,

but I just want to remind you

that I see God's life in you

and therefore I know

that he's at work

and therefore I know

that he's chosen you

and he loves you

and he's for you.

God is for you.

I don't understand

all that's going on,

but I know he's for you.

He's chosen you.

You belong to him.

That's what Paul's doing here

in 1 Thessalonians.

And I think from that,

that's what we're called to do

in each other's lives,

to remind each other

of this wonderfully good news

that we're beloved

and chosen of God.

Thirdly, character.

In verse 5,

in the latter half of 5,

he says,

you know what kind of men

we proved to be among you

for your sake

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.

Paul talks about how

the Thessalonians

were imitators of this team,

this apostolic team

that had been there.

They showed the same level

of character

that his team showed

by receiving the word

even though there was

a lot of public pressure.

They received the word

in much affliction

with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

So he's pointing out

that these guys

had maturity

like the team

in that they held

the word of God

as a higher value

than the approval of men,

even if it meant

actual persecution.

So he's pointing out

in them

this miracle

of a faith

in the word of God

and a submission

to the word of God

that would be held

even amidst the pressure

of a broken world.

So these guys

are believing

when it's not popular

at all.

Actually,

it's dangerous

to believe.

And he's encouraging them

by reminding them

of this.

He's pointing it out.

He's saying,

you guys are just like us

and actually you're just like

the Jerusalem church,

these people

that we've told you

stories about

who are enduring

a lot of persecution

for the sake of Christ.

You're just like them.

You've come to the same

understanding

that to belong to Christ

and to possess Christ

and forgiveness

and life

and to live under the king

is worth far more

than anything

this world might offer.

And because you're getting that,

you're willing to endure

the world opposing you.

You're willing to endure

the loss of property,

the loss of status,

all these things.

He's pointing that out

about them

that they demonstrate

this Christian character

that they're willing

to endure all these things

for the sake of Christ.

That's character.

That's a work of God.

That's a miracle.

And that's the reality

really for every believer.

If you're going to follow Jesus,

if the world rejected Christ

and crucified him,

then we should expect

nothing really that different

as believers.

And if you're going to follow Jesus,

that's part of the reality.

The world does not want Jesus,

at least the whole Jesus.

The world, I think, at times,

likes kind of the morality of Jesus.

They like the idea,

love your neighbor,

be respectful to others.

All these ethics that come

with following Jesus,

I mean, people love his teaching

on ethics,

but they don't listen

to the whole thing

because there's more to it

than just that.

There's himself

and who he is.

He is Lord of all.

He is the only way

to the Father.

There's no righteousness

apart from Christ.

Only in him

is there forgiveness

and life and righteousness.

There's no other way.

He teaches that clearly.

So the world tends

to ignore that part.

We don't like that

because we want the good things.

We want the morality.

We want the wisdom,

the stability,

perhaps,

that that brings,

but we don't want

God himself.

And to be a believer

of a follower of Christ

means to go too far

with this thing

for a lot of people.

The world wants morality,

but they don't want

God himself.

And they want you

to be a good neighbor,

to be kind,

but not go overboard

about Jesus.

It's kind of like a child

that maybe is living at home

and thinking,

you know,

I love living at home

because I get to use the car.

I get, you know,

I get nice food.

I get to go on nice vacations,

but I really can't stand my parents

and I don't want

to be around them at all.

That's kind of the idea.

If we want morality without God,

that's what we're doing.

And that's kind of

the world's way

with these things.

And so to be a Christian

means to go against

this mindset,

to kind of go overboard,

where they,

to be not only interested

in being like Jesus

in ethics,

but being a devoted follower

of Christ.

It's popular to be

a respecter of Jesus,

but not an earnest follower.

It's popular to be spiritual,

but to do so in private,

not be a public Christian.

And often for,

to be a Christian,

it's okay to be a Christian

just to kind of

keep it to yourself

and don't get too serious,

don't join a church.

That's just,

that's what's out there

in the world.

That's kind of

in the culture.

And so Paul is encouraging

the Thessalonians

because they're facing

things like that

that are even more severe

than what we face.

And he's encouraging them.

You guys are choosing

to follow Jesus

even amidst persecution.

And I just want to say

that for you guys

here at Trinity Cambridge Church,

you guys are choosing

to follow Jesus

even though it's not popular

in the culture.

and your presence here

is a statement

that you're interested

in following him

and you don't care

what it means

for the culture.

You're willing to deal

with the opposition

of the culture.

You're willing to follow him

and be serious

about believing

and obeying

and be serious

about the things

he calls you to

like being a church,

being together,

loving one another,

worshiping on Sundays,

meeting during the week,

praying for each other,

and being faithful

to represent Christ

to the world

not just by loving them

and being a good neighbor

and doing the things

that they might like,

but sharing and proclaiming

the good news

that he is God in the flesh.

He is the rightful king

of all.

And that's a wonderful thing.

It's a glorious thing

and I'm so glad

that you guys are doing that

here in East Cambridge.

And I would want you

to hear God's pleasure

in what you're doing.

and to see that

you're demonstrating

a high level

of Christian maturity

by even doing

what you're doing here

right now today,

coming together,

being together to worship,

being under his word together,

saying,

Jesus, you're Lord.

We believe you.

We want all of you.

And we want to make you known

in the world.

That's a wonderful thing

and it's an encouragement.

It's an encouragement

for your fellow believers

to see this.

Just yesterday,

I was up in Maine

with about 150 pastors

and church leaders

and they're throughout Maine

in rural areas

and they're doing

the same thing.

And I came away

with the number one thing

was it's just a privilege

to be with these guys

because they're doing

the same thing

all throughout Maine.

They're representing Christ

all throughout Maine,

being faithful in a culture

that doesn't want them

to be faithful.

So Paul encourages

the Thessalonians here

and we should also

remind each other

of this

and encourage each other

in this

to point out

these things

and say thank you.

Thank you for being

a regular part

of a small group.

Thank you for being

part of the church.

Thank you for your

faith and maturity

to make involvement

in the local church

and following Christ

a priority.

So pointing out

that sort of godly character.

And then finally,

Paul points out

to the Thessalonians

their example,

their compelling lives.

So in verse 7

and following,

he says,

so that you became

an example to all

the believers

in Macedonia and Achaia.

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 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.

So Paul is pointing out

to the Thessalonians

this church

that you guys

are your conversion

and your devotion

to the Lord

has been made known

throughout Macedonia.

So they're in the area

of Macedonia.

That's where Thessalonica is.

But also Achaia,

so that's further south

down near Corinth.

And not only that,

but it's gone beyond

and other people

are telling us

basically about you guys.

Your life,

your faith,

your desire

to follow the Lord,

your desire

to love your neighbors

and share Christ

with your neighbors

even though they

may persecute you

is being made known

throughout the region.

Your conversion,

your change

from following idols

to following Jesus,

that story

has been spread abroad.

That's what Paul's saying

about the Thessalonians.

And again,

why is he saying this?

He's wanting

to encourage them.

He's wanting to point out

evidences of God's grace

in their lives.

He wants them

to be aware

of the miracle

of God's activity

in their midst

so they'd be strengthened

and encouraged

because life is hard

for the Thessalonians.

They're dealing

with persecution.

They're dealing

with challenges.

The normal challenges

we may face

and even more

added to that,

the opposition

of their culture.

And so he wants

to point out to them

that God is at work

and people are seeing that.

they're seeing God

at work.

And it's wonderful

to hear stories

of God's activity.

It's an encouragement

to others

to watch God

at work.

And I was recently

reading the biography

of John Patton.

John Patton was a missionary

to the New Hebrides

in the South Pacific

near Fiji

back in like 1860.

And back then,

those islands

were full of people

that were cannibals.

And they were not only cannibals

but they were brutal.

Like their culture

was brutal.

It was a warfare culture.

They were constantly

fighting each other.

They would lie

and deceive.

Like someone might tell,

well John Patton,

they would tell him,

oh brother,

we're glad you're here

and they use polite language.

We want missionaries here

because they bring good things.

And then like the next day

they would try to kill him.

The same guy

who said that

would try to kill him.

And so it was a culture

that was just brutal

and dark.

And John Patton went there

and he was faithful,

went through all sorts

of persecution.

His wife died,

his friends were murdered,

he was driven off

of one island

but he went back

and he kept on loving them

and then God broke through.

And basically on the island

he was,

where he was,

they all came to faith.

And it was after some years.

And just the,

it was an amazing story

of conversion

and new life

on that island

and then started to spread

to all the other islands.

And then John Patton

actually took that story

and went around the world

and really inspired

the missions movement

of the late 1800s

by telling the story

of conversion

and fruit

on those islands.

And so there's an impact

when we hear about

God's activity.

When we,

when we hear about

how he's at work,

it encourages us.

And so Paul is

pointing out to the Thessalonians

that, you know what,

you guys may not know this

but your story

is being told all around.

And it is having

an impact on others.

And he's seeking

to encourage them

through that.

Well, you may not know

this Trinity Cambridge

but your story

is having an impact.

And just to start

with my own life,

I was reflecting

with my wife.

We lived in the city

back in the 80s

and the early 90s.

We lived in Rosendale

and then we lived

on Mission Hill.

and I was an elder

in a church,

a River of Life church

in Jamaica Plain.

And we used to meet

with pastors in the city

and other churches

to pray for the city.

And at that time,

I was only aware

of one other church

in Cambridge,

one church in Cambridge

that loved the gospel

and was making,

was seeking

to proclaim the gospel.

Only one

in all of Cambridge

that I know of.

Now there may have been

another one

but,

so maybe two

but that was it.

And I would imagine

there was nothing

in East Cambridge

at all.

And during that time,

actually,

there were hardly

any churches

in the city

that loved the gospel

and were seeking

to have an impact

in their neighborhoods.

And yet,

God's been at work,

hasn't he?

And you guys are here

in 2018

in East Cambridge.

And there are other churches

in Cambridge

proclaiming the gospel

and seeking to love

their neighbors

and make Christ known.

And so just the,

it's just amazing

for me to step back

and think about

what God's doing

and that you guys

exist here

and that you're

imaging Christ

in East Cambridge.

That's a wonderful

encouragement

and it's to the glory

of God.

So you may not be aware

of all that God's

been doing

but he's been at work

and he's been answering

the prayers

of those pastors

and churches

back in the 80s

that asked the Lord

to come and impact

the Boston area

and you are an answer

to that prayer

in many ways.

And certainly I know

that among our family

of churches

and Sovereign Grace churches

and elsewhere

I would expect as well

they know about

what God's doing

in East Cambridge

that he's planted a church

and he's growing a church

in this part of the world

that maybe among Americans

at least would be

least likely

a place for a church

to thrive

and yet here you are

growing

and thriving

and God's at work.

And I hope that you're

encouraged by that

even as the Thessalonians

were encouraged.

So just as I close out

this message

I just want to

encourage you

to think of how

you can encourage others

as you learn

from 1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

First,

to know that your

brothers and sisters

need your encouragements.

We are all

struggling in a world

that's opposed

to God

in our own

flesh

our fallen nature

is opposed

we struggle

the world

opposes us

the enemy

opposes us

and apart from

encouragement

the ministry

of encouragement

we would lose

strength

and we would

be weary.

And how does

God encourage us?

He uses our

brothers and sisters.

And so I would

encourage you first

just to think

about your call

to encourage others.

That the Lord

would want to use you

and call you

to encourage others.

And then the next

question is

well how do I do that?

1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

This is how you do it.

Look how Paul did it.

He encouraged them

by reminding them

of these core virtues

faith, hope, and love.

He encouraged them

by reminding them

of evidence

that God loves

them and chose them.

So chosen of God.

He encouraged them

by reminding them

of evidence

of godly character.

And then finally

he reminded them

of the impact

of their lives

on others.

So four ways

we can encourage

each other.

So just as I close

I just want to

encourage you

to take a minute

right now

and think about

what God would

call you to do

in terms of encouragement.

Is there maybe

somebody

that you can

encourage today

or this next week?

Maybe there's some

just even like

Lord I want to be

somebody that encourages

others.

I want to apply

this word this way.

So just take a minute

to reflect

and then the guys

will leave us

the rest of the time.

Thank you.