You Welcomed the Message

And speak, the first reading is in Acts 17, where we were a little bit earlier.

Acts 17, it's on page 1113 if you've got a red covered Bible.

Acts 17, and we're going to read verses 1 to 10.

These readings introduce to us a new series as we go through the book of 1 Thessalonians.

So all those who are going to be speaking through the summer, different people, will be taking a section on 1 Thessalonians.

This first reading tells us how the church started in that city.

So Acts 17, starting at verse 1.

When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days, he reasoned with them from the scriptures,

explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead.

This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ, he said.

Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.

But the Jews were jealous, so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace.

They formed a mob and started a riot in the city.

They rushed to Jason's house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.

But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting,

These men, who have caused trouble all over the world, have now come here.

And Jason has welcomed them into his house.

They are all defying Caesar's decrees, saying that there is another one called Jesus.

When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil.

They put Jason and the others on bail and let them go.

As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea.

On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.

So that's Acts, and then if you go to page 1186 to Thessalonians.

It's on page 1186.

And it's 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, the first 10 verses.

1 Thessalonians 1 · chapter mention

Page 1186, 1 Thessalonians chapter 1.

1 Thessalonians 1 · chapter mention

So this is a letter written back to the church that was started.

Paul, Silas, and Timothy.

To the church of the Thessalonians.

In God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace and peace to you.

We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers.

We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith,

your labour prompted by love,

your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

For we know, brothers and sisters, loved by God, that he has chosen you.

Because our gospel came to you not simply with words,

but also with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction.

You know how we lived among you for your sake.

You became imitators of us and of the Lord.

In spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.

And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

The Lord's message rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia.

Your faith in God has become known everywhere.

Therefore, we do not need to say anything about it,

for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us.

They tell 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 rescues us from the coming wrath.

Ralph.

Ralph.

Can I pray for you and for us?

Yep.

That won't upset you, will it?

That would be great.

No?

Okay, so I'm going to pray for Ralph.

This is Ralph Depping.

He watches television all day.

That's his work.

And he's also an elder, one of the leaders in the church.

So I'm going to pray for him.

Father God, we thank you so much for Ralph.

We thank you for the gifts that you have given to him.

We thank you for his love.

We thank you for his care for this church family.

We pray for him now as he speaks,

that you would fill him with your Holy Spirit,

that you would fill us with your Spirit,

that we may receive your words,

hearing clearly what you are saying,

changing us, transforming us,

and teaching us what it is to welcome the gospel in our lives.

So bless him, and bless us also in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Of course, I've got to clarify what exactly it is I do now, don't I?

My current work involves working for Sky Television,

so that's why I get to watch Sky Telly all day.

Not quite, but it's a little bit of my job.

So we're going to be moving a little bit between Acts 17

and 1 Thessalonians this morning,

mainly in 1 Thessalonians,

but we're referring back to Acts 17,

so keep your finger at Acts 17 as well.

I don't know if you've ever had a phone conversation

quite like the one that I had last Saturday morning.

This is kind of how it went to start, but anyway.

Can I speak to Ralph, please?

What's this in relation to?

I need to speak to Deppie and Ralph.

This is very urgent.

What's this about?

I need to speak to Deppie and Ralph, sir.

It is an urgent message.

I am from Microsoft.

Your computer is infected with viruses.

We are calling to help you stop your computer sending out viruses.

I said that was the call that I had last Saturday morning at home.

Someone was calling me with an urgent message,

demanding that I respond and answer them,

confirm who I was,

and hand over control on my computer.

If the message is true,

well then I do have a serious problem with my computer,

and this man,

who is phoning me up,

is here to help.

But if the message isn't true,

if the message is false,

then he was trying to trick me into believing him.

And you know what?

That was the thing that was going to create the serious problems,

wasn't it?

Where none existed before.

How I welcomed that message was going to be absolutely critical to the rest of my day.

Could I trust the message?

Could I trust the messenger,

the one who was bringing it?

What evidence was there

this was really someone from Microsoft

calling me up

with a message,

an authentic message,

that I should believe?

Now,

I'll leave you in suspense for a little bit.

I'll let you know later on

how I got on with that phone call.

We may not have had such phone calls

or experienced conversations like that,

but I think in a lot of ways

we're in that very position here this morning,

right now.

You see,

I'm bringing you a message,

and it's an urgent message,

and there's a serious problem.

And I'm asking you to believe the message

and to take action.

But who am I?

Why would you listen to me?

What's the message?

Why should I welcome it?

I know for a lot of people,

this isn't your usual church here this morning.

And so,

you're going to be extra wary,

aren't you?

The person up the front

and what they're saying.

Well,

I just want to encourage you

that you're right to be wary.

And even for the people that are regularly here,

you're right to listen

with that kind of slight wariness

and listening carefully.

Because the message of the gospel,

the message of a church,

is a serious business.

It's not to be taken lightly.

You see,

the message of Jesus makes bold claims,

and it demands a radical response.

And if we get it wrong,

if we get the message wrong,

if we get our response to the message wrong,

the results are serious.

We could end up ignoring this great news

of salvation,

of being saved from the coming wrath of God.

Or on the other hand,

we could be tricked

into believing

and to living for something

that is just a complete sham.

So the stakes are high,

how we believe

and how we welcome the message.

So the way I want us to consider

the message this morning,

the message of Jesus,

is to look at the Bible record

that we have with us.

We're going to look

at how that same message

came to a church in Greece.

The church we want to look at

is in the Greek city of Thessalonica.

It's still a city in Greece.

You can go there today on your holidays

and spend some euros.

I know it would be very welcome there.

But we're not looking at the church

in Thessalonica as it is today,

but as it was 2,000 years ago.

We're looking at the very first time

that the message of Christianity

reached the city of Thessalonica.

So it started in the Holy Land,

in Israel,

and it began to spread out

and eventually it spread to Greece.

And we're looking at how that message came

in order to read about this church

and how it welcomed the message.

We're going to look at the first person accounts

that we have from that time

as they are written for us

in the New Testament.

So we've read the account, haven't we,

in chapter 17 of Acts

and how the church was established.

And what we've read in 1 Thessalonians,

it's a copy of a letter

that the founder of the church, Paul,

the messenger that brought the message,

is writing to the congregation.

So the person who established the church,

who brought the message, the messenger,

is writing back to the church

to encourage them and to help them

and help them in their understanding.

And I think what we get in chapter 1

is kind of a reorientation

or a recap of what has happened

in Acts chapter 17.

Acts 17 · chapter mention

So Paul is linking back

to the time that he spent with them,

how the message came,

and how the church was established.

And I think it's worthwhile to us

just to look briefly at chapter 17 in Acts,

so page 1113.

Paul and his companions

had come to the city of Thessalonica.

I mean, Scripture is rooted in history,

it's rooted in geography,

it's rooted in real places.

And you'd see that they passed through

a couple of different towns

and then they came to Thessalonica,

which was a strategic city.

It was about the size of Cork City

and was an important place

in the Roman Empire.

And there they preached

in the local Jewish place of worship

for three Sundays,

or three Saturdays,

the Sabbath,

in a row, the synagogue.

And that was their custom, wasn't it?

They would go to a city

and they would seek out people

that were already expecting to hear

about a king from heaven

that had come to rescue them.

And this was the message that Paul had

and he sought out people

that were willing to receive it.

So in the synagogue,

Paul tells the Jews about Jesus,

that Jesus is the one.

Jesus is the long-promised King of God

that has come to restore all things.

And this was the message

that the Jews were waiting to hear.

But instead of restoration

through conquest,

instead of restoration

by ridding Israel of all her enemies

and freeing Israel from the Romans,

the message of Jesus

is restoration through suffering,

restoration through death,

restoration through resurrection.

We read in verse 4

that some were persuaded in the synagogue,

along with a large number

of God-fearing Greeks

or Gentiles, non-Jews,

and also a few prominent,

not a few prominent women,

so a large number of prominent women.

But then do you see what happens

from verse 5 onwards?

The message and the messenger

comes under attack.

The message is not welcomed by everyone.

It's not universally accepted, is it?

Even among the Jews

who are meant to be waiting

for this message of a Messiah

that had come.

Verse 5,

we have bad characters.

We have a riot.

If we go to verses 8 and 9,

there's turmoil.

The Christians have to be put on bail.

And then in verse 10,

we have Paul and Silas

having to slip away

under the cover of darkness

in fear of their lives.

I don't know how you feel about this,

but I think there was a very real risk

that the message,

the word that was being scattered

among the Thessalonian people

would be strangled

by thorns of persecution and suffering.

It's a little embryonic church,

the word being planted,

and all these persecutions

coming in on top of it

to strangle it.

So I think it's some relief

to Paul and to us this morning

that we have the letters

to the Thessalonian church.

From what we read in chapter 1,

we find a church

that has not only managed to survive,

but has actually become

a model church

to the whole region and beyond.

But we read in Acts 17

of the kind of persecution

and the church has survived

and has become a model.

Why did this church,

in the midst of such chaos

and opposition,

manage to hold fast to the message?

I think the answer is,

or the one that we're going to look at this morning,

is right bang in the middle of chapter 1.

If you look at verse 6,

and there's just one phrase,

and we have it up at the top

as the title this morning.

And verse 6 says,

You became imitators of us

and of the Lord

in spite of severe suffering.

You welcomed the message

with joy,

with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.

Do you see that phrase?

You welcomed the message.

So I want us to look

and focus on

the two verses

that just go before,

verse 6,

so verses 4 and 5,

and use them

as the starting point

or the branching out point

to look at the rest of chapter 1.

Because I think

we want to understand the message,

don't we?

What is this message

that we're talking about?

That's important.

How it came,

and then how it was welcomed

by the believers there.

For we want to have confidence

that we have welcomed

the right message,

the real message,

and that we're not just following

cleverly invented myths.

What confidence do you have this morning

that what you're hearing is true?

Or whichever church

you go to normally

or wherever you are,

how do you know it's true?

And I think we should have confidence

because what we're talking about

is serious business.

Firstly, verse 4,

For we know, brothers,

loved by God

that He has chosen you.

God, God is at work.

God is at work.

And God must be at work.

For if God is not the person

behind the message,

then what's the point?

What's the ultimate meaning

or impact

or purpose of the message

if God Himself

is not the one behind it?

But we read in verse 4

that God is the source

of the message that came to Him.

He is the one that loves them.

He is the one that has chosen them.

All responses to the Christian message

begin with this,

God's loving initiative

towards His people.

He is the one.

He is the one who rescues us

through Jesus Christ

from the wrath that is coming

that we read about in verse 10.

Every Christian story,

every church plant

begins with the same truth.

You know you are loved by God

because He has chosen you.

And His choosing

means there's no grounds

for boasting.

There's no grounds

for self-congratulation,

for patting yourself on the back,

for feeling better

than the person over there

or over there

or outside the door.

There's no barriers.

It can be erected between us.

If God has chosen us,

there are no barriers.

He loves you.

He has chosen you.

The initiative comes from Him.

I wish we had time

to dwell more in verse 4.

I really wish we had.

There's so much

just in that one verse

that we could take this morning.

But please just take this point

as we go on

that God loves you

and has chosen you.

I ask that we move

to verse 5 and onwards

that we hold verse 4 very dearly.

For we can argue, can't we?

And we get confused at times

between God's calling

and our response.

God calls and we respond.

And Christians argue

which is more important,

that God calls

or that we respond?

And who really makes the decision

when those two things

come together to believe?

Is it God's decision

or is it my decision?

And I think we need to know this,

that both are very clear

and both are there in Scripture.

Verse 4,

God has chosen you.

And in verse 6,

you welcomed the message.

Do you see?

The two go together

and we try to push them apart

and say this is it

and this is it,

but the two are there.

So we start with 4

and we move to 5.

And verse 5 has that

great linking word,

because, because, because.

We say that we are loved

and chosen.

How do we know this?

Because, because, because.

We know we are loved

and chosen

because of what comes

in verse 5.

Firstly,

the gospel came to them,

verse 5,

not simply with words,

because our gospel came to you

not simply with words,

but also with power,

with the Holy Spirit

and with deep conviction.

And when you read that,

it's tempting, isn't it,

to skip the,

the not simply bit.

You kind of, you know,

you're eager to get into things.

You say, oh, not simply, okay.

So we'll get on to the bit

that follows

because that's the complicated bit

and that's where we need to be.

But we'd be wrong

to skip this part

of the message coming.

Yes, there was more

than words at work

in the gospel

that came to the church

in Thessalonica.

But it's never less than words.

For words,

the content of the message

is absolutely,

they're absolutely critical.

Imagine if my phone conversation

continued like this.

Sir, you have a problem

with your computer.

Okay, I'm not going to tell you

who I am,

but what is the problem?

I can't say.

Sorry, you're telling me

there's a problem

with my computer?

Well, what kind of problem?

I can't say.

I don't, I don't have any words.

I've nothing really.

It's a problem

with your computer, sir.

You have to listen to me.

This is very urgent.

What kind of a message

would that be?

What kind of a conversation

would that be

if there was no content,

if there was no words,

if there was no information

communicated?

And a word of warning,

as we were here this morning,

we must not assume the message.

We must not assume the content.

We mustn't sit here

on a Sundays

and treat what we do

as some kind of social gathering

where we drink cups of tea

and we welcome one another

and we sing songs

and head off

and those things are great

and all those things

are critical to what we do,

but because they're infused

with the message.

We're not a social club.

That's not what it's about

on a Sunday.

As good as these things are,

without the clear retelling

of the gospel each week,

they are meaningless.

It's as if God wasn't there

or wasn't behind it.

And we need to not just do

this retelling on a Sunday.

We need to do it

throughout the week.

The words of the gospel,

the message,

the content

need to be heard and shared.

Pastor and author

Kevin DeYoung

put this very well

and I just read it

during the week

and thought it fit very well

and he puts it this way

and it's up there

if you're able to read

but you can just listen as well.

What he says is

don't assume,

articulate.

The first generation

receives the gospel.

The second generation

assumes the gospel.

What happens?

The third generation

loses the gospel.

We must not only

affirm the gospel

when we're having it

presented to us

like what's happening now.

We must teach our people

to articulate it.

we must sing it strong

and preach it loud.

We must be passionate

about clarity

and be clear

with our passions.

It must be clear

and we must be passionate

and those things

must go together.

Words are important.

We see that in the Bible

again and again.

God reveals himself

to his people

through words.

The words of the prophets,

the words of the apostles,

they're written down

in the Bible.

Paul, when he came to Acts,

he reasoned from the scriptures.

And not only that,

but Jesus himself

is identified as

the word of God.

The ultimate revelation

of who God is.

The ultimate word.

The ultimate communication

by God of himself

to his people

is Jesus.

Jesus is the word

made flesh,

made human.

Look at the chapter

in front of us.

Verse 5.

What he says,

our gospel

with words.

Verse 6.

It says you welcome

the message.

If you skip down

to verse 8,

speaking of the Thessalonians,

the Lord's message

rang out from you.

The gospel.

This message is the theme

of the whole

of the scriptures.

It fills each

and every page

of the Bible.

And what we believe

is of first importance.

For there are many groups

and many churches

that are church

only in name.

For they no longer

hold to the clear

message of the gospel.

The message they have

is a different message,

a different gospel

with a different focus.

And it's one

that's not fit for purpose.

Because the message

we need to hear

is one that saves us

from the wrath

of God.

and we need a message

that will rescue us

from the coming wrath.

Look at verses 9

and 10.

Second half of verse 9.

They tell

how you turn 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 rescues us

from the coming

wrath.

Verse 10.

We read about Jesus,

the Son of God

that has come

from heaven.

God who comes

into a broken world

from the kingdom

of heaven

and he comes

as a man.

The same God-man,

it says,

he dies

and he's raised

to life again.

He's resurrected.

But why?

The clear message

to save us

from the coming wrath.

That's not a popular message.

It's not when you hear a lot.

It's even when you don't

often hear a lot of

in churches,

believe it or not.

But it's important

because you see,

God cannot continue

to forever tolerate

a broken world.

God can't continue

to put up with the suffering

and injustice

and rebellion

that is against him.

So his wrath,

his perfect justice,

and his punishment

against rebels

is coming.

If that is true,

what is the message

we need to hear?

We need a rescuer.

We need a rescuer.

Jesus,

the one who delivers us.

So here in verse 10,

we have a summary,

a snapshot,

if you like,

an instant picture

of the message.

And this was the word

that was preached

to the Thessalonians

and the one that we seek

to continue to preach

as followers of Jesus,

the words that came.

Have you welcomed

this message?

And again,

we must not sit here

this morning

and just nod our head

in agreement.

As Kevin DeYoung tells us,

don't assume the message.

Articulate it

or speak it out.

Speak to each other.

Speak to people

that don't know it.

Speak it on Facebook,

on email and Twitter.

Say it again

and again and again.

Learn the message.

Speak the message.

Learn the message again.

Speak the message again.

Paul puts it like this

elsewhere in the Bible.

For what I received,

I passed on to you

as of first importance,

that Christ died for sins

according to the scriptures,

that he was buried

and that he was raised again

on the third day

according to the scriptures.

The gospel message

needs to be heard.

Back to verse 5.

The gospel that came

to the Thessalonians,

as it says,

was not simply with words,

it also came in power.

Not simple words,

but words with power.

Now what does that mean?

What does it mean here

when we say

that the gospel came in power?

Because we come across ideas

in the Bible that have

lots of meanings

and lots of expressions

and the way we use English,

we understand that a word

like power can mean

lots of things.

So we have to look,

I think,

for the clues

to get some understanding

in the passage.

Well, what is the meaning?

And on power,

I don't think we get

any direct comment

from Paul about

what the power means.

It could mean

that there were powerful signs

and wonders

that accompanied

the message

as it went

to the Thessalonians.

And we see that

in the history

of the early church

in Acts.

Often there were signs

and wonders

that went with the gospel,

powerful signs

to confirm the message.

But we don't actually

read of any of that

in Acts 17.

So I think

rather than

the power in this case

being powerful signs

or wonders,

which is one possibility,

it seems instead

in the context

of what Paul is writing here

in verses 4 and 5,

that the power

is the intrinsic power

of the gospel

to save people.

Paul makes this,

I think,

quite clear,

this idea in Romans.

You don't need to turn

to it,

chapter 1 and verse 16.

Paul says,

I'm not ashamed

of the gospel

because it is

the power of God

for the salvation

of everyone

who believes,

first for the Jew

and then for the Gentile.

And as we saw

in Acts 17,

that's what happened,

isn't it?

That the gospel

came in power,

first to the Jews

and then to the Gentiles

and everyone,

regardless of being

Jew or Gentile,

was saved by the gospel message.

It is the power

to bring about rescue

and deliverance

from the wrath of God.

Isn't that the power

that we really need

if the wrath of God

is coming?

And this is what we find,

this is what we find

in chapter 1

and all the verses

in Acts 17.

people that are being saved

by the power

of the gospel.

So the message

didn't just come

simply with words,

but it was accompanied

by saving power.

We see it in verse 9 again,

don't we?

They tell how you turn

to God

from idols

to serve

the living

and true God.

people responded

by the power

of the gospel

and turned

instead of living

for self,

they literally

did a 180

and they began

to live for God.

That's the power

of the gospel

and

well,

it's incredible.

The gospel

coming in power.

People who were

looking to idols

are now looking

to God.

Man-made comforts.

Little idols

were ruling them.

But when the gospel

came,

they turned.

We may,

of course,

want to object

at this point

to what happened

or maybe we're thinking

in our heads,

we have a little comment.

Yeah,

I mean,

the simple,

superstitious

first century Greeks,

you know,

their little wooden idols,

their little clay idols.

So,

okay,

they gave up them

for some invisible God

who lives in heaven.

Big deal.

That's not very powerful.

They just gave up

one religious superstition

for another religious superstition.

Little wooden idols

for invisible God.

I mean,

you know,

it's not very convincing,

is it,

to read that.

But you've missed a point

and you haven't

looked carefully enough,

I think,

because this isn't

some small change

of allegiance

between competing

sellers of religion.

for the message,

verse 6.

Do you see the context?

It's been welcomed

in the midst

of severe suffering.

Remember back to

what we read

in Acts 17.

The Christian message

is turning the world

upside down.

This message,

which is taking over

the whole world,

has come to our city.

What are we going to do?

Yes,

the idol makers

are going out of business.

Sorcery books

are no longer

being purchased.

In fact,

they're being burned

as what we read

in Acts.

The temple

prostitution business

is now at risk

as people have stopped

going to the temples

and taking part

in all that happens there.

The whole sordid

order of society

is being left behind

for a God

who,

in verse 3,

promotes love

and promotes faith

and promotes hope.

A message

that changes

priorities of people

to no longer

live for self

and pleasure

but instead

they can welcome

suffering and disgrace

because they're looking

for a saviour

from heaven.

This is the power

of the gospel

to turn people

away from idols

and to turn them

to serve the true

and living God.

We may scoff

at the idea

of bowing down

to little idols now.

You know,

we think it's ridiculous

but how many of us

bow down each day

to our TV idol?

How many of us

bow down to our

computer idol,

our phone idol?

We may not have

little statues

that we fear

and we appease

but we fear

losing our internet

connection for a day.

We appease

our God of stuff

and gadget

by making them

the focus

of our energies

and our time

and our money.

Or maybe not,

maybe for others

it's your work,

your desk,

the importance

of your desk at work,

the fields you work in

as farmers.

You're so eager

to do our jobs

that we don't have time

for the true and living God

and they're our idols.

Or we worship people,

we worship our partners,

our spouses,

our children,

they rule our lives

and we fear

messing them up

or we fear

messing up the relationship

and that dominates us.

We have to appease them.

We,

I,

am the superstitious

21st century equivalent

of the Thessalonians.

We are the simple creatures

with our created gods,

worshipping them

instead of turning

to the living God

and serving Him.

We need

the power

of the gospel

to rescue us

and to turn us

towards the Savior

from heaven.

Verse 5,

because our gospel

came to you

not simply with words

but also with power

with the Holy Spirit.

So what's up

with the Holy Spirit then?

Why does he get a mention?

We know the content

of the gospel,

we've spoken about that,

the words,

we see the power

of the gospel

to change lives

and then we hear

that the Holy Spirit

is part of this message

coming.

There's lots

and lots

and lots

we could say

about the work

of the Holy Spirit

in bringing

the gospel message.

He convicts people

of sin,

makes them aware

of their sin.

He brings about

the new birth,

the change inside

where people are able

to follow God

and he comes to live

inside the believer

and empower them.

I'm not going to try

and squeeze all that

in here

because we know

that the work

of the Spirit

is so massive

in this whole area.

But let's look for

why I think Paul

included this here.

Again,

trying to stick

to the context

of the passage

and what it says

rather than reading

in all that we could

to see what it says.

Let's look for the clues.

It's verse 6,

I think.

I think verse 6

is a big help

in understanding

the role of the Holy Spirit

in the message coming.

You became imitators

of us

and of the Lord

in spite of severe suffering.

You welcome the message

with the joy

given by the Holy Spirit.

You see the two things linked?

The message,

the Spirit.

And the reference

to the Holy Spirit

brings us back

to the context again

of the letter

and the context

of how the church

was born

and it makes sense.

The church was born

in severe suffering.

Churches do not always

start out

or indeed continue

in prosperity

and blessing.

In fact,

many churches

are born

in suffering.

Paul suffered.

Acts 17.

The local believers

suffered.

They were arrested.

They faced being dragged

from their homes

and brought before

the magistrates.

They had enemies

who were actively

seeking to persecute them.

They were suffering

for the gospel

and because of the gospel.

Think about that.

In order to welcome

that message,

what that meant,

in such circumstances,

would you welcome

the message?

Would you be so quick

to switch your allegiances?

Seriously,

why ditch your current

kind of harmless idols

maybe,

you know,

from what you can see,

things you can control,

and bring such suffering

on yourself

because of the Holy Spirit.

The end of verse 6.

They endured

all of that suffering

with joy.

With joy

given by the Holy Spirit.

Ah, come on.

Suffering?

Okay.

With joy?

Really?

No one.

No one finds joy

in being dragged

before the courts

and having to be bailed out

in order to keep the peace.

But that's exactly

what this is saying.

The Holy Spirit

enables joy

in suffering.

And it's one of the things,

one of the qualities,

I think,

of the Christian message

that makes it

unique.

it's not a message

primarily of success,

of wealth,

of healing,

of conquest,

of achievement,

of ultimate victory

in this life.

Because that's what the Jews

were expecting,

wasn't it,

from the Messiah.

But Paul taught them

in the synagogue

that the Messiah

must suffer.

It's a message

of joy,

yes,

in suffering.

Of a Savior

who suffered

and died.

And it's such joy

that characterizes

the Spirit's work

in bringing the gospel.

It's a joy

that welcomes

the message

of a servant king

who was spat on,

who was whipped,

who was beaten.

Jesus was devoid

of property

and health

and well-being

in the end.

He was actually

stripped

of his last clothes

as he went

to the cross.

He hung there

naked,

naked on a tree.

a torture instrument

for the world

to mock.

We need the Holy Spirit.

We need him

to bring about joy

in such a spectacle.

For there's no human joy

in looking at the cross.

There's no human source

for that joy

in the sufferings of Christ.

Or there's no human joy

to want to follow that.

Or to want to suffer

like that.

Can the followers

expect it to be treated

better than their master?

Oh, that the message

of the cross,

the message of the cross

would go hand in hand

with the joy

of the Holy Spirit

so that when we see Jesus,

we see a glorious

suffering king.

back to verse 5

and the final

thing that the gospel

came with,

the message.

The gospel came to you

not simply with words,

but with power,

with the Holy Spirit,

and with deep conviction.

The final piece

for the Thessalonians

was that it came

with deep conviction.

This, I think,

shifts our attention

somewhat from the message

to the messenger.

And it's something

if you're reading Thessalonians

as we've read

chapter 1 this morning,

we're going to be

going through it

for a couple of months,

that we can't get away from.

The who is so very important

to this letter.

Paul reminds them,

doesn't he,

in the latter part

of verse 5,

of what deep conviction

looks like.

You know how we lived

among you for your sake.

Full assurance

by Paul in the message.

You see,

Paul isn't some

hired sales rep

for the latest

religious fad

that he's trying to sell

into these new places

that's come out

of the Holy Land.

You see,

Paul is fully assured

of his message

and deeply convinced

that it is the power

of God for salvation,

the only message

worth bringing.

So Paul not only

shares the message,

but Paul shares

his very life

with the believers.

He is willing

to model Jesus

to them.

So that in verse 6,

the Thessalonians

become imitators

of Paul

and in turn

imitators of the Lord.

And again,

how did Paul imitate

his saviour?

Through his joy

in suffering.

Jesus poured

immense,

immense sufferings

into the life

of Paul.

Remember Paul,

his old name?

He used to be called

Saul.

And Saul used to go around

persecuting the Christians.

He presided over them

being killed.

He was on a mission

to eradicate the church

and God changed

his life.

The most unlikely person

to change allegiance

was Saul.

But he was transformed

by meeting Christ.

And Christ told him

he would suffer greatly

for the gospel.

Christ poured his

sufferings into Paul

and Paul received him

with joy as he went

through beatings

and imprisonments

and shipwrecked.

He had deep conviction

as he was hounded

from city to city,

keeping one step

of the people

that would kill him

for preaching this gospel.

Going through this,

it asks a question

of me.

It asks a question

of us all.

How important

is the messenger

then

in bringing the gospel?

Does the messenger

matter?

For I am no Paul

as I stand here

this morning.

As the gospel

is spoken in our service,

it's coming with words,

it is coming

with the power

to save,

and the Holy Spirit

is there for us

if we would receive him

so that we can receive

the message with joy.

But what about

the deep conviction?

And I stand exposed

for the call of God

on all of us

and on me in particular

as I stand here

is to live among you,

to live among you

for your sake,

to allow my following

of Jesus,

as it says in verse 6,

to be an example

that can be imitated

by others.

And this makes it

very personal,

doesn't it?

And as I say it,

I feel weak

and unable

for my conviction waivers

and my example

is not always

one to imitate,

but the message

must be lived out

in a community.

We're not

100-meter sprinters

competing against

one another

to get to the end.

If anything,

we're like

three-legged racers

in a marathon

holding each other

trying to get there.

So I look to you

as you look to me

as we all look

to Christ together.

The gospel is about

deep conviction

to the message

and deep conviction

to other people.

It's chapter 2

and verse 8

which is such

a great summary.

I had to go ahead

and pluck it out.

Apologies to whoever

is preaching

on chapter 2

and verse 8.

We loved you

so much

that we were delighted

to share with you

not only the gospel

of God

but our lives

as well

because you had

become so dear

to us.

The messenger

is part of God's purpose.

Not that God

is dependent on us

for he can

and he sometimes

does use

different means

to reach people

but I think

his normal method

in building his church

is person to person

and we have to be

that daily example

of Christ

and his selfless

suffering

to each other.

Are you willing

to share your life

with the person

next to you?

The person behind you?

The people

that are out

in junior church

and up in creche?

How deep

is your conviction?

Maybe it's just

enough

to be here

on Sunday

for a couple

of hours.

That's good.

It's a good

starting point

but I'd ask you

not to stop there.

Build on it.

Grow it.

Look to others

for an example

of what it means

to have deep conviction

and for aim

as we see

what happened here

is not just

to be an example

to one another

but for the message

to go out

as it did

in verses 7 and 8.

Do you see that?

It went out

from Macedonia

and Achaia

which is basically

the whole of Greece

and as Paul

went around

not just to other churches

but he says

everywhere.

So Paul went

to cities

where there

was no churches

and Paul says

verse 8

we do not need

to say anything

about it

for they themselves

report the kind

of reception

he gave us.

So the reputation

of the church

in Thessalonia

it went out

it went out

everywhere

and people knew

of the church.

Ah the message

yes we've heard

the message

I know you're

the first person

to bring it to us

but we've heard

the rumours

and the stories

of these people

that have turned

from idols

to serve the living God

and who are

awaiting a saviour

to rescue them

from the coming wrath

we've heard that message

and wouldn't it be great

if that's the kind

of reputation

that we had

as a church

that we went

to Kinsale

or around Cork

or Waterford

or Wexford

or Dublin

or Donegal

or further afield

that yes the church

in Carragallion

we've heard of them

they love Jesus

and it all starts

with this

welcoming the message

in the midst

of severe suffering.

I've gone well

over my time

but I have to tell you

about my Microsoft

caller

don't I?

Leaving you in suspense

that wasn't very fair.

Needless to say

he was a scammer

trying to part a fool

from his money

I didn't give in

his aim was to get

control of my computer

at which point

he would then install

the viruses on us

and then charge me

for the privilege

of removing them.

You've been warned.

His message was a lie.

The words he spoke

they were all wrong.

He had no power

to fix my computer

and I can tell you

if he got hold of it

I wouldn't have any joy

in the suffering

that was going to follow.

And I was completely

unimpressed

by his lack of assurance

when I began to question

him of his own message

and he struggled

to convince me.

So in the end

I lost nothing

by ignoring it.

In fact I was better off.

So what are you going

to do with the message

you've heard this morning?

You can treat it

in exactly the same way.

You can treat it

as a scam

and dismiss it.

Or you can weigh up

the evidence

the words

the power

the work of the spirit

and the deep conviction

of the people

that believe.

You know our church

isn't perfect

the Thessalonians

we're going to see

aren't perfect

Paul has to rebuke them

as well as encourage them.

But we must come back

time and again

and ask of our church

and of ourselves

about the gospel

we believe.

Does it have word?

Does it have power?

Does it have spirit?

Does it have conviction?

If the evidence is there

believe the gospel

and look to heaven

for a saviour

from the coming

wrath of God.

Thanks Ralph.

Well in response

to what we've heard

we're going to sing

our final song

He is the Lord

and He reigns on high

If you look at

the second verse

if you could flick that up

and He comes in power

the next one

sorry

there we are

Your gospel

O Lord

is the hope

for our nation

it's the power

of God

for our salvation

so let's stand

as we remind ourselves

and sing

of how great

our God is.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

He is the Lord

and He reigns on high

He is the Lord

He's been to the darkness

created the light

He is the Lord

Who is like unto Him ever ending in days

He is the Lord

And He comes in power

We call on His name

He is the Lord

Show Your power

O Lord our God

Show Your power

O Lord our God

O Lord our God

Your gospel, O Lord

Is the hope for our nation

You are the Lord

The power of God

For our salvation

You are the Lord

We ask not for riches

But look to the cross

You are the Lord

For our inheritance

Give us the lost

You are the Lord

Show Your power

Show Your power

Show Your power

O Lord our God

Show Your power

Show Your power

O Lord our God

Show Your power

O Lord our God

O Lord our God

Please do take a seat

Just a couple of instructions

And then I'm going to pray

And we're going to have lunch now

Which is going to be served over where the hatch is

And so there's going to be tables there

So a couple of volunteers to get the tables that are behind the screen

Put them there

And anybody who can help bring the food out

If you've got children

If you could kind of look after them

And then we're going to form a nice orderly queue

As we always do

Over that way to there

Pick up your dinner

A drink

And then just sit around

And chat

To people as well

So I'm going to give thanks to God

For the food that we're going to have now

And please just use this time just to chat

We're here to celebrate the arrival of Ben

Celebrate Peter and Maeve are leaving in the right way

You understand that

But let's pray

Father thank you so much for your goodness

Thank you most of all for the gospel

For that message that has come to us

We pray that you would work it into our lives

Convincing us of its truth

Changing us and transforming us

We thank you now for the food that we are going to enjoy together

We thank you for the reasons that we are having this lunch

For little Ben

For his family

Thank you that we can celebrate these great gifts that you give to us

Thank you also for Peter and Maeve

And we pray your blessing on them

So we thank you Father

For each and every one of your good gifts

In Jesus name

Amen

Thank you I thank you for the puppy that we are lettingسم학INE

For their family to pursue Seymour

In Jesus name

Amen

So we sharing the information that we are going to estudium

Angelus

Who's going to get to find the School of Housing

What other things are trying to do here

Those children,...

A mother

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.