THE GROWTH OF GOD\’S CHURCH
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
ENCOURAGING THE CHURCH
V:1 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. \”
A. The Way we treat each other is important.
1. Recognizing those who serve with you in the ministry is being kind and courteous.
2. None of us can do the work of the Lord by ourselves.
3. God put people in our lives to serve Him.
4. We are all an equal part of God\’s team.
B. We should be quick to give credit before others to those who serve with us.
1. We may be head of the committee, but the committee does not function
without servants.
2. No one should take the credit for what God has done.
3. Each of us has been selected to serve together.
C. Together, we are the Church that God has created.
1. We must constantly recognize to others that God is our Father and Jesus is
Lord and Savior of our lives.
a. Jesus is head of the Church and lead team member.
b. We must never forget that we can do nothing without Jesus.
John 5:30, John 15:5
2. From our heart we should wish the very best for others.
3. The very best is the Grace of God (His favor) and His peace.
4. The church has it\’s foundation and continuation in the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.
PRAYING FOR THE CHURCH WITH THANKS GIVING
V:2-3. \” We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; 3 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\”
A. Our prayers for the Church is important.
1. Notice, Paul gave thanks to God for the Church.
2. We will never know all the benefits a Church does in the Lord.
3. What we do know is that God uses each Church to carry out His will.
B. The greatest work of the Church is done through faith and love of each member.
1. God has never promised us that serving Him would be without problems
2. The devil is always busy attempting to discourage and block our progress.
3. God\’s work will be stopped by the devil.
4. We must trust the Lord and stand on His promises.
5. He will never leave us without His power to fulfill his plans.
SELECTED AND EMPOWERED BY GOD
V:4-5. \” Knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you; 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. \”
A. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.
1. Because of His great love, God chose us in Jesus Christ.
2. We did not chose Him, He chose us before the foundation
of the world. Eph 1:4
3. The good news is God did not wait till we were good enough to
serve him.
B. Jesus brought us the Gospel with His preaching and teaching of His Word.
1. He showed Himself to be God with miracles and signs that no man
can do.
2. He left witnesses on earth to His raising of the dead, casting out demons
and healing all kinds of diseases.
3. He gave us, the church through the power of the Holy Spirit the ability
to do greater things than He did. John 14:12
4. Jesus left us the Word in print, both Old Testament and New Testament
which no man has been able to destroy.
a. It is believed that the book of Genesis was recorded around 1500 years
before the birth of Christ.
b. God has preserved His word for 3500 years.
5. There are over 5000 seminaries in the US dedicated to the study of the Bible.
C. The conviction of the Word is through the power of the Holy Spirit.
1. John 16:8-11
When He comes, he (Holy Spirit) will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and
righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me;
10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see
me no longer; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now
stands condemned.
2. There is victory in the Word of God.
THE CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH
V:6 -7. \”You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.\”
A. We are imitators of Jesus Christ.
1. As much as we can we ought look like and act like Christ.
2. Being imitator of Christ requires us to give up self and take on Christ.
3. To serve Christ, our agenda has to His agenda.
B. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can move out of our comfort zone
and serve where Jesus sends us.
1. We may be the first church that some are exposed.
2. When people see us, they ought to see what the Church of Jesus Christ looks like.
3. There are some that God is drawing to the Church that we are the examples.
a. No one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws them. John 6:44
b. If our attitude is not right, we miss an opportunity to be a witness for Christ.
THE MISSION OF DISCIPLESHIP
V: 9-10. \” 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, 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.\”
A. The church ought to have reputation for serving Jesus that others talk about.
1. We ought to be known for preaching the Word with conviction
so are drawn to Christ.
2. We ought to be known for teaching the Word of God that those drawn to the
Church know the true meaning of salvation.
B. The Church ought to be known for teaching the consequences of sin and
the consequences of not have a relationship with Jesus.
1. The church has to know the hell is real and means an eternal
separation from God.
2. Those who believes in Jesus ought to have joy in their expectation
of spending eternity with Christ.
NASU
SECTION OUTLINE OF (1 THESSALONIANS 1)
Paul opens his first letter to the Thessalonians by listing five characteristics of the church in Thessalonica.
I. It Is an Energetic Church (1:1-3): Paul gives thanks to God.
A. For their strong faith (1:1-3 a)
B. For their labor of love (1:3 b)
II. It Is an Elect Church (1:4): They have been chosen by God himself.
III. It Is an Exemplary Church (1:5-7)
A. Paul\’s example to the church (1:5-6)
1. His preaching is anointed by the Holy Spirit (1:5).
2. His personal lifestyle is anointed by the Holy Spirit (1:6).
B. Their example to the world (1:7): They are a model to all the believers in Greece.
IV. It Is an Evangelistic Church (1:8): Their faith in God has become known
everywhere.
V. It Is an Expectant Church (1:9-10): They are looking forward to the return of
Jesus from heaven.
(from The Outline Bible by Harold L. Willmington Copyright © 1999 by Harold L. Willmington. Produced with permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church
5510 West Sam Houston Park Way North
Houston. Texas 77041
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