This content explores the Epistle to the Thessalonians, highlighting its potential to bring excitement to churches, encouragement to ministers, and enlightenment to individual Christians by emphasizing faith, hope, and love as evidence, motivation, and the secret to a happy Christian life, all centered on the imminent return of Jesus Christ.
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welcome to back to the Bible radio
featuring best-selling author an
internationally known Bible teacher
Warren where's being it is not
considered polite to read other people's
mail except when you read other people's
mail in the New Testament and then it's
commanded the letters of the Apostles
sent to the individuals and the churches
found in the New Testament are letters
that we must read and we must study and
we must practice what they teach that's
why we are now embarking on one of
Paul's earliest letters first
Thessalonians now you may be asking why
study first Thessalonians well because
first Thessalonians when this letter is
understood and practiced can make three
very wonderful contributions to us today
this letter can make a contribution to
our churches to us individually and to
those who are ministering the Word of
God if we understand the message the
content and the intent of first
Thessalonians it can bring excitement to
our churches and know how we need that
today secondly it can bring
encouragement to our ministers thirdly
enlightenment for the individual
Christian so many Christians today are
confused about morals they're confused
about death they're confused about the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and in
this letter the Apostle Paul brings
enlightenment he is shining the truth of
the word of God upon our hearts and
telling us how to walk in this present
evil world and so these are the three
words that are going to guide us as we
study first Thessalonians excitment the
reality of Jesus Christ and his coming
again encouragement let's keep on doing
the job no matter how difficult the day
may be enlightenment let's walk as those
who are pleasing God obeying his word
let's look at 1st Thessalonians first of
all sort of an
overview to see what it has to say to
our churches and the key word here is
the word excitement notice in verse 5 of
chapter 1 Paul is remembering what
happened in Thessalonica for our gospel
did not come to you in word only but
also in power and in the Holy Spirit and
in much assurance as you know what kind
of men we were among you for your sake
and you became followers of us and of
the Lord so that you became examples to
all Macedonia and Achaia and in verse 8
he says for from you the word of the
Lord has sounded forth here are people
who had become excited about the gospel
of Jesus Christ now our local churches
today have needs and you know we're all
saying the same thing we need revival
what is revival well it means life again
here is a local church in Thessalonica
that was just taken over by the power of
the gospel they were alive in the Lord
they were excited about what God had
done in their lives now we don't like to
say this but sometimes a local church is
a place that is dull business as usual
we sort of repeat our dullness from week
to week in some places or we might go
the other extreme and have a false
excitement a false fire that really
doesn't last
you see dullness in the Christian life
is a sin the Christian life ought to be
the most exciting thing and being in
God's sanctuary with God's people ought
to be an experience of real excitement
not business as usual there's a lack of
reality in some churches words but not
actions there doesn't seem to be that
power of the Spirit of God in many
churches there's an unconcerned for the
lost not only the lost at our own
doorstep but the lost around the world
dullness lack of reality unconcerned for
the lost inconsistency there
been scandals in local churches just as
much as scandals on the media I fear
that in many places our local churches
are settled in the world they've gotten
rich and increased with goods they say
that we have need of nothing and don't
realize that they are really the
neediest people of all I think one
reason we've lost our excitement is we
have lost the motivation of the return
of Jesus Christ in first Thessalonians
the Apostle Paul emphasizes the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ and these
people in Thessalonica were excited
about Jesus because they were expectant
they were looking for him to return now
he did not return in the first century
he has not returned so far but he's
going to come again and living in the
light of his coming living in the future
tense is what brings excitement to the
Christian life in Chapter 1 the
Thessalonians search was a really
excited church in chapters 2 and 3 they
were an established church that's good
too to have your head in the clouds but
you'd better have your feet on the
ground and they did persecution did not
move them or cause them to want to quit
oh we need that today so as we study
first Thessalonians I do trust that some
of the excitement of this book will
reach into our churches now secondly
this book also can make a contribution
to those who are serving the Lord
that means encouragement you know
pastors and Christian workers are
discouraged these days so they may not
say it they may not even look like it
but they are so often I receive letters
from Christian workers and they're
telling me of their heartbreaks and
their discouragement and I'm glad they
write we pray for them and we write back
and say look don't quit it's always too
soon to quit that's what dr. Edmund used
to say at Wheaton College it's always
too soon to quit some time ago a survey
was made of four thousand six hundred
and sixty five Protestant ministers and fifty-eight
