1 Thessalonians 4 – Part 2 (Thomas Smith)
- Teaching 4.19.11
- What makes us important?
- Power?
- Land?
- World of Warcraft?
- What makes us SIGNIFICANT?
- Others make you significant
- 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10
- “Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more,”
- Their love was going out all through Macedonia
- They were on fire for it
- It was so foreign and so different, they thought it was really amazing
- Paul tells them to keep loving more
- This decision to keep going and loving them can be hard
- “Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more,”
- 1 Corinthians 13:2
- “If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”
- Pretty bold claim
- If you are not loving people then you are nothing
- “If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”
- 1 Corinthians 13:8
- “Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.”
- Love never fails
- Another VERY bold claim
- Very comforting fact!
- If you are loving then you will succeed
- God teaches you how to love the RIGHT way
- Love never fails
- “Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.”
- `1`John 4:8
- “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
- GOD IS LOVE
- Another very very bold claim!
- It is so supernatural and yet so cool!
- The author of LOVE itself has given me the power to love like He does
- GOD IS LOVE
- “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
- You have to love by forgiveness and repentance
- You cannot hold something over their head
- You cannot keep reminding them that they are wrong or that they owe you
- 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
- “And to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.”
- If you live a quiet life and mind your own business, people will like you?
- NO! WRONG!
- Is talking about your ambition
- Ambition: an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction
- We are all about sharing our lives and getting into others’ lives to see what is going on with them
- This is YOU deciding that you are going to help and love people
- You can offer strong, loving relationships
- If you live a quiet life and mind your own business, people will like you?
- “And to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.”
- Matthew 7:24-27
- “’Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell–and great was its fall.’”
- Let us build strong relationships with God as our foundation
- God is like the rock
- Sturdy and strong
- Let us not build relationships on superficial things
- Like the sand
- Let us build strong relationships with God as our foundation
- “’Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell–and great was its fall.’”
- Ephesians 4:28
- “He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.”
- Do not just take and take from people
- Build and provide for people
- Share with each other
- “He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.”
- Thessalonians 4:13-17
- “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”
- Falling sleep means you pass away
- But you do not just die, you live for eternity
- The kind of freedom you get from death is amazing and such a relief
- This freedom gives us plenty of opportunities to have many amazing relationships
- “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”
- Thessalonians 4:18
- “Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
- Knowing that you will live for all eternity is a great thing
- All of your relationships that you build here and now will follow you to eternity
- Your personal relationship with God will be there to continue
- God will love you in a glorified state, not a fallen state
- This will be so wonderful to experience!
- We do not have to worry about the future
- Worry about you and your relationships
- “Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
- Significance
- Eternal relationships with people because we are not bound by death
- Substance
- Building a way to love people and offering and sharing with people all throughout eternity
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