Throw Paul in a dungeon for getting rid of the money making demons
He was singing and praising the Lord even though he was in prison
He eventually gets out
Acts 17:6
“When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, ‘These men who have upset the world have come here also;’”
Paul goes to Koran
Acts 18:5
“But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.”
They told Paul about Thessalonica
1 Thessalonians 1:1-4
“Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you;”
Paul says that he is continually thankful for them
Faith, hope and love is what Paul emphasizes
1 Corinthians 13:13
1 Thessalonians 1:9
“For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God,”
They have turned away from idols to worship the true God
They gave up the pagan worship that was in the world
It is important to see the direction that is happening here
Why is this significant?
They were not trying to fix themselves
They just loved Jesus and His love that He gives them
Revolutionary faith!
They are changing the way they think
They are LOVING people
Usually people find their own idols
Not necessarily wooden figures, but the self
Making yourself feel good
They realized the idols were so dumb
Knew they were made-up and sick of them
They are really excited about having loyalty to the real God
1 Thessalonians 1:4
“Knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you”
God has chosen us to be his own people
John 3:16
God so loved the world that He gave His only Son to be sacrificed
1 Thessalonians 1:5
“For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.”
Not just a book of rules
Power to reach peoples’ hearts and change them, if they want to change
Wills could be changed and moved
Moved towards loving people
Not blind faith
Cool faith
We are letting God work in our lives and help us love people
1 Thessalonians 1:5-8
“For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything.”
They heard the word and became imitators of Paul
At first they casted Paul out of their land
But they realized that he truly loved them
They also became imitators of the Lord
The Lord is a pretty cool person
You start loving other people more and changing
When you try to develop a heart like God, it is such a cool thing
They received the word in much tribulation
When they received the Word, they went through hardships
It was not easy
They were going through some serious persecution
But they were not fazed
They were very joyful about this
This is only something you can find with Jesus
Nowhere else offers this immense amount of joy
Their faith in God is real sweet
Other cities are hearing about this
Really life-changing, altering stuff
They must have been so happy!
Labor of love
These people were thinking of other people, not themselves
1 Thessalonians 1:10
“And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.”
Makes dealing through that labor of love worth it
This is looking ahead to the future
This is Jesus’ promise to us that we will have eternal life with Him and the Lord
If you know Jesus Christ, we will be resurrected and have eternal life
Because they had a shift in their life, it changed everything for them
They were so happy and satisfied!
They had joy and hope that could never be taken away from them!
