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Introduction to 1 Thessalonians 0:02 Hello, men. Welcome to the men's global livestream and another installment in our overarching series, The Bible for Every Man. And for the next several weeks, we are going to be0:14 studying through and learning from and really meditating on the book of first Thessalonians. So grab a Bible and turn to the book of first Thessalonians with me. My name is Dusty Davis. I have the0:25 pleasure of being on the every man teaching team. Kenny Luck has been a dear friend, and close trusted spiritual mentor to me for over 20 years now. And it's just a joy to be a0:37 part of everything that God is doing through Everyman Ministries globally. So man, as you turn to the book of first Thessalonians, I have to issue a caveat and a bit of an0:49 encouragement, that we often do as we start to tackle an entire book of the Bible. And that's this. For much of this book, we're gonna be doing a flyover. Now there's times that we're gonna1:01 dive down and get deep and really sink into the meaning of certain passages for sure. But here's the encouragement. Marinate in this book over the coming weeks.1:13 Spend spend time in it. Go back to it. Sit in it. Read it. Reread sections that we go through together and allow the Holy Spirit to to speak to you, to teach you something, to bring out1:25 new truths specifically about God in your life. And I encourage you to have a journal. Have a place that you can write down thoughts, impressions that the Holy Spirit gives you, questions1:37 that you might have, and then take those questions, get together with other men that are studying this book, other men who are following after Jesus together, and really make that a pattern for1:49 how you pursue Jesus and how you study God and study his word. Alright. Our series through the book of first Thessalonians is entitled, As 1. Now2:01 in this walk through Paul's letter to the church in Thessalonica, we're gonna we're gonna be taking a deeper look at the global body of Christ. The family, the followers of Jesus around the world, what scripture calls2:12 the church. And in the way of context, it's really important for us to understand a couple of things about the book of first Thessalonians. So many biblical scholars believe that first Thessalonians was2:24 actually the first of the letters that Paul sent out to the many churches that God had planted through Paul and his ministry. Now the story of the church in Thessalonica actually begins back in the2:36 book of Acts. It's an incredible book, right? Where God gives us his Holy Spirit, where we see God launch the movement that has been sweeping the globe for the last 2000 years. I'm2:48 talking about the church. Now, Acts chapter 17, we read specifically about the church in Thessaloniki, the Greek city or Thessaloniki as it's often referred to. Paul3:00 and his faithful coworker in the gospel, Silas, were headed into this city. They planted a church and Paul and Silas saw incredible, incredible fruit. And it actually3:12 happened rather quickly. After about a month of faithful preaching, there was now a large number of Greeks and Jews, that had begun professing their faith3:23 in Jesus. And so the church in Thessalonica was was birthed. And as was so often the story in the early church, and as is still so often the story of the church3:35 today, they were met with opposition. The local government did not approve of this church. More specifically, they didn't approve of the object of this church's3:47 worship and devotions. This is acts chapter 17 verses 7 where we read about the accusation of the believers in Thessalonica says this. They are all guilty of treason against3:59 Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king named Jesus. Now the local followers that make up this brand new church were at odds with the local4:11 government, and it didn't have anything to do with their style of music or how loud and rowdy their gatherings were. It wasn't because they were holding political rallies. It wasn't because of their conservative family4:21 values or any other thing that the church take heats for today. Pure and simple. The people in Thessalonica had a new king, the 1 true king.4:33 They worshiped and served Jesus alone. Now this is often the problem with those outside of the faith that they have with those inside the family of4:45 faith is that we're no longer submitting to the kingship of of anyone, of anything besides Jesus. It makes us unpredictable.4:57 And to people with political aspirations, it makes us uncontrollable. And as such, it makes us dangerous. And so things got hot at the church in Thessalonica. So hot, in fact,5:09 that after just that short amount of time, Paul and Silas actually had to flee. And I can't imagine, but this must have just broken Paul's heart. Not only was he encouraged by the faith, by this thriving new5:21 church, but Paul loved these people. He had offered himself to these people. Well, let's take a look at it. Today, I'm gonna be reading and teaching from the New Living Translation. So let's jump right5:32 in. First Thessalonians chapter 1, we're actually gonna start in verse 2. We always thank god for all of you and pray for you constantly. As we pray to our god5:44 and father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I told you that Paul loved this5:56 church, that he genuinely loved these people. And I have to tell you guys something. Those of us, including many of you that have been given the joy and the privilege of overseeing any type of a6:08 faith community, you know that we feel the exact same way. I often thank God for the men across the globe that are living out their lives for Him, that are living for6:20 Jesus. Anytime I meet men standing tall in the spaces and places that God's put them, men leading their families in in a way that's consistent with God's word. I'm just encouraged. And so I thank6:31 God. Whenever I think of the men that are just living contrary to our culture, trusting what God in his word says is true, allowing the Bible to inform his life decisions practically.6:44 Men living above emotions in the group think of culture. Paul felt the same way. But isn't it interesting, Paul's thinking about the lives of the people that make up this local church.6:56 And he's thinking about the decisions that they're making and the way that they're living out their faith, and yet he's thanking God. Paul recognizes God is the active7:08 agent in the lives of the people. And there's really a great and important truth for us. Whenever God starts doing something around us, in us, or even7:20 through us, never accept any of the praise or any of the glory. Never attach yourself to what God is doing through you. Never7:32 attach yourself to the stuff that he's doing. Give him praise. Turn it back in worship to him. Deflect deflect the attaboys back to their proper place. And never attach any of7:44 yourself. Don't attach your feelings of self worth, of accomplishment, or pride, or even your identity to the stuff that God is responsible for. God was7:55 the 1 creating the faith in this church. He's the 1 to be praised for all of it. Even the things that the people were accomplishing. Philippians 2 13 reminds8:07 us of something very very important, very similar to this. Look at Philippians 2 13. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. I8:19 mean, our good God is the 1 to be praised for anything being done in his name that is bearing food for around the entire planet. In our own lives, look what he does. He takes care of8:31 our desires. So if we have godly desires, they're from him. And And then he's the 1 who gives us the power to fulfill those desires. It's all him. In this world, Jesus, King Jesus8:43 is behind every single transformed life. He's behind every single profession of new faith, every repentant heart, every growing church, every thriving fellowship8:55 group of followers, it's all Jesus. He's behind every restored marriage, every man who's kicked addiction. He's behind every good and beautiful thing that we9:07 experience as his followers. Does he use us? Yeah. Does he move through us? Absolutely. Is it because of us? Does he need us? No.9:19 I remember when my kids were little and they would help me with a task that was bigger than them. I didn't need their help, but I love to do it with them. I love that they were with me learning from me. I love to9:30 see that they learn something from me, put it into practice in their own life. God loves involving us in the building of his kingdom. But let's never attach ourselves to the stuff that9:42 he's doing through us. Paul was giving God praise for the things that he saw in the church. Look at what he specifically thanked God for because I think there's some important things for us in here. We're gonna unpack9:54 them a little bit. He thanked God for their faithful work, for their loving deeds, and for their enduring hope. Faithful work, loving deeds, enduringFaith, Love, and Hope in Action 10:05 hope. So let's let's unpack these a bit because they're worth more understanding in hopes that we would have the same attitudes and see the same fruit in our own hearts, in our10:17 own lives, in the own local expressions of God's family that we're a part of. Now the middle of the list of those praises is love and that's really where we begin. We have to start there because love is really the10:29 big why of this entire list. Love is is the engine for the entire church. Love's the engine for each of us individually.10:41 For God's man, it is love and not fear or duty or expectation that motivates him. God's man is driven. Not out of compulsion or expectation.10:54 It's love. It's love that informs and propels the life of God's man. We said this epistle is written by Paul. Right? This is a man who had incredible understanding, who had committed11:06 his life to the study of Torah, of the law, who was zealous for the things of God, who lived his life with complete a ban for the sake of the creator God that he served, and yet the God11:18 he misunderstood. And it wasn't until after an incredible truth encounter with the person of Jesus on the road to Damascus, until Paul realized the truth about who Christ was,11:30 the reality of his love for Paul that changed everything. Same is true of us. The same is true of everyone who rightly11:42 sees Jesus for who he is. It starts with love, but it doesn't end there because our love moves us to deeds. Period. Our love moves11:54 us out. Love does. Love goes. Love gives. Love serves. James said that faith without works is dead. Well, a life without works12:06 is also a life that must be devoid of the love of Jesus, or at least a life that has the wrong view of it. Because there's just no such thing as a bloody savior12:18 and a lazy follower. The love that we've experienced, it just it moves us out. It sends us out. It moves us out in faith and in hope as we see in the rest of the12:30 list. And really faith and hope are 2 sides of the same coin. That faithful work, that enduring hope. These are the expectation that we have that God is who he said he is. And then by12:42 our faith, we believe it and we live it out. By faith, we look forward to our future with Jesus, to his ultimate victory. For God's man, faith informs everything. Everything.12:55 Faith informs his view of himself, his understanding of Christ, and his hope for the future. For God's man, faith is the lens through which we correctly see ourselves,13:06 Jesus, and even the future. Hebrews chapter 11, 1 of the most famous passages about faith, says this in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1, faith shows the reality of13:18 what we hope for. There's the evidence of things that we can't see. And skip down to verse 3. By faith, we understand that the entire universe was formed at God's command. That what we see13:30 now did not come from anything that can be seen. In those 2 simple passages, we see that faith informs our future hope. This is including the things we cannot see yet, things that13:42 haven't happened, or even our great God whom we can't see. But it also informs and corrects and strengthens our understanding of the scripture, things in the past. Right? We13:54 understand how the world was formed by faith. So in that way, guys, our faith quite literally and beautifully informs our past, our present, and our future. And14:06 see love not only provides the motivation for all this, but love is also what binds us together. It's what moves us out and what keeps us together. Because the love of Jesus is really14:17 what unites us. And this is so important, maybe more important now than at any point in the history of the church. Because the world is just divided. It's divided14:29 and it's divisive. People are so quick to outrage, so fast to get upset, so quick to speak. It's like the opposite of James' encouragement to us. And our culture just14:41 wants to move to cancel. Which side are you on? Are you with me? Are you against me? Are you in? Are you out? But in God's family, it should just be different. If Jesus14:53 if Jesus Christ is what unites us as God's people, then what is powerful enough or important enough to divide us? If what we stack hands on is the real and15:05 true and biblical view of who Jesus Christ is, then what what could separate us? If that's what we have in common as brothers and sisters in the faith, what viewpoints? What15:17 stances on politics or social issues? What race or social class or anything could be powerful enough to separate us? Well, the obvious answer is nothing.15:29 But this has to become the collective identity for us as God's people, and let the love of God unify and define us. I mean, take a look back at our15:40 passage. We're down in verse 4 and 5 says this, we know dear brothers and sisters that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people. For when we brought you the good news, it was not15:52 only with words, but also with power. For the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you.16:05 We talked about God's love unifying and defining us. Look at what this passage says about who we are. For everyone who's crossed the line into a saving relationship with Jesus, look at what's true16:17 of you from just this short powerful passage of God's word. First, it says God loves you. Don't gloss over that. We're talking about the creator God. The16:29 God who is all knowing, all powerful, all present. Right? The creative agent behind all things. The God who speaks galaxies into existence. He cares for16:41 you. He loves you personally. God doesn't just love us. He loves you. But it goes way beyond that. God not only loves you, this passage says God chose16:53 you. He chose you as in hand selected you to be in his family. When I look at my own life, I have no idea why. I don't know why God saw fit to bring me into the17:05 family. But with every breath that I have, I will try to thank Him. My life will look like 1 big thank you, Jesus.17:17 But I love that he says that this faith we've been brought into is not just words. It's not just an idea. Look at the end of verse 5. It was17:29 not only with words, but also with power. For the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. Let's put it like this. The17:41 Christian life is based on the truth of the gospel, and then it's lived out by the power of the Holy Spirit. It's based on the truth of who Jesus is. It's based17:52 on the truth of who we were before Him lost in our sin. Our life is based on the reality that we've been rescued, but then we're not there just efforting on our own. It's lived18:04 out by the power of God's Holy Spirit. And we need this encouragement because life is gonna get too big for us. It's gonna move beyond our reserves. I don't18:16 care how deep your strength is. It's gonna require the strength of the Holy Spirit because we're going to come up against tough times. And18:28 sometimes even our faith, our believing itself is what brings the suffering as we saw with this early church. Paul was a little bit familiar with suffering. I mean, he had quite literally just been beaten with rods,18:40 thrown in prison, and even placed in the stocks for his faith. I'm talking old school public torture, like hands and feet locked up. But what's the result of a18:51 faith that's real, that's lived out? What happens if we, like Paul, cling to our faith, especially when it's really hard to do so? What is the life19:03 of that that assurance, that full assurance look like? And what can God do through our obedience if we hold on even when times are tough? Guys, beautiful things. Beautiful19:15 things. But when we're in the middle of that struggle, we have to remember, God doesn't cause our pain, but he doesn't waste it either. He doesn't cause our pain, but19:27 he doesn't allow it to go to waste. God is not sadistically trying to just put us on display to this world or bring challenges to show that he can overcome. Guys, the fall, the effects of sin, the evil in every19:39 single human heart, including our own and our enemy, they're gonna bring us plenty to overcome. But our god's gonna use it all. I mean, after reminding them of19:50 god's love and of his power, which was gonna help them out in difficult times, look what Paul says in verse 8. And now the word of the lord is20:02 ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia. For wherever we go, we find people telling us about your faith in God. We20:14 don't need to tell them about it. They keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us. How you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God. They speak of how you're looking forward to the coming of20:25 God's son from heaven, Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. Look at that. I mean, look at the results, the real impact of people living out truth20:37 and walking in faith. This says that the word is literally ringing out, going out like a beautiful song for anyone willing to listen to it. It says20:49 people everywhere are seeing them, living out their faith. And according to this passage, this is God's plan to make the gospel known.21:01 I mean, we follow this recipe. How is it that God is making his appeal to the world? Through us, telling our stories, and living out our faith. God's making his appeal to the21:13 world through us as we tell our story and as we live out our faith. Because like we saw, God's filled us with his truth and his power. He chose us. He loved us. He's rescued21:25 us. Now we start to move out, and we tell our story. Guys, I hate to break it to you, but the gospel is truth.21:38 It's words that have to be spoken. People have to understand who Jesus is. It's not enough for us to move out and be nice people who do the right thing. People need to hear about our hope. That's why we have to tell21:50 our stories, what God has done. And guys, we're not called to be his attorneys. Called to be his witnesses. Look, this is who I was, and then I met Jesus, and22:01 this is who I am. And then living it out. Being men consistent enough with enough integrity to actually do the things we say that we'll do, to be22:13 about what it is we say we're about. Now Paul says he didn't even have to tell people about the faith of this church. Why not? Because they'd already seen it.22:26 They'd already experienced it. Guys, for the church in Thessalonica, faith wasn't just a list of of ideas, of of precepts. It was a way22:38 of being. It was a rhythm. It was a way of life. It really was the hallmark of the people that were followers of Jesus. And so it begs a heavy, heavy question22:50 for you and I to consider in our own hearts wherever we are today. What story is my life telling? What story is your life telling to the people around you? Really, what23:01 kind of faith is your life putting on display? What type of faith are our lives teaching other people about?Living Out Real Faith 23:14 Does my life put on faith a display that that brings Jesus into the situation so that people can experience him? Do people look at my life and see a faith that informs my ultimate hope?23:26 Do do do people see a faith that informs where I find joy? Does it see a faith that brings me real peace? Peace. My gosh. How elusive is23:38 this in our world today? In his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, paints a beautiful picture of the the practical alteration that faith has23:50 on our life, the impact that real faith has on not just our emotions, but on our actions. I mean, the world is full of concerns. I don't have to tell you this. Nothing new. Right? Spoiler alert. Life is24:02 hard. And I mean real concerns, real problems. And every day, we face some type of real opposition, struggles with with with health and relationships and and24:14 finances and raising kids and being in a marriage relationship. We face challenges. I mean, fill in the blank, whatever it is for you. This world has trouble. We were promised24:25 that. And my flesh's response to trouble is almost always fear, worry, anxiety, doubt, frustration.24:38 Yet Paul reminds us that the man of God is no longer controlled by his flesh. That he doesn't stew on the size of the problem. That he24:49 doesn't let his emotions win. Rather, the man of god allows his faith in Jesus to inform his life practically, actually,25:02 daily by committing to the rhythms of prayer, of studying God's word, of confession. Right? Confessing his sin to find healing,25:14 of reflecting on God and his character. God's man brings his worries proactively and gives them to the Lord. And you know what the world gets to witness?25:26 Paul put it like this. After you give your fear to the Lord, then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will25:38 guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Are people watching us and scratching their heads going, I don't even understand the peace that I see in the sky?25:51 Our faith was never meant to just be academic. It was never meant to just be an idea or a precept. Our faith is real.26:03 Because our faith is in the very real person of Jesus and the realities that he's revealed to us. I mean, the truths about all of the issues that we spoke about before.26:16 And as God's men, we let our faith in Jesus and not our emotions inform our hearts. We don't let our culture or popular opinion or social26:27 media influencers or podcasters, or bloggers, or new anchors, or talking heads, or Twitterers inform what we believe, or how we're gonna26:39 respond. We let the truth of Jesus. Remember that first accusation of this church? They had a new king. They had a new source of truth. Someone was calling the shots in their26:51 life. We have to put that on display. Living that out to this world by the power of Jesus' spirit. I mean, that's that's the recipe. Right? It's the truth of27:03 Jesus that we witnessed in the word on display in the person of Jesus filled with the holy spirit, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. We're letting that27:15 invade every corner of our hearts no matter what the flesh tells us. So what kind of faith do people see in my27:26 life? Academic or real? The kind of faith that they would want in their own lives? Would they see something in you? Would would they see27:38 someone in you and then want Jesus in their own lives? When my wife was a baby, she got very sick. She got infant botulism and became27:50 incredibly ill and was hospitalized. Now she's the first child of my in laws, and so you can only imagine as new parents the fear and the worry and just the pain of of having28:02 your only your first child hospitalized with some infection that was now threatening her life. My mother-in-law and father-in-law both had questions. They were both dealing with28:14 fear and worry and doubt and concern, but they took them very different directions and to very different places. See, my mother-in-law became almost frantic28:26 because she felt helpless, rightly so. Her heart broke to see her baby in pain. And then there was this this anger that she felt at not being able to ease it, and it was28:38 overwhelming her. The feelings of helplessness were overwhelming, and yet she saw the calm look on her husband. And instead of it encouraging her, she says it actually made her upset.28:50 Because she looked at him like, why don't you care? I followed and responded, I care immensely. She's my daughter as much as she is yours. I love her completely. Then why aren't you freaking out29:02 like I am? What good would it do? Besides my faith is in the Lord Jesus. I'm trusting his power. I'm trusting his love. I'm asking him to heal our baby29:13 girl. My mother-in-law was floored. See, she'd been raised Catholic, and the truths of scripture at that point were just ideas to her.29:25 These weren't encouragement or truths that informed her emotions or her daily decisions. Now my father-in-law, a recent convert to Christianity, for him,29:37 God's word informed his reality, his emotions, and even his hope. Long story short, not too much of a spoiler, my wife did not die as an infant. She made it through.29:51 But the true miracle that day aside from her healing was the faith that my mother-in-law witnessed in her husband and wanted for herself. Guys, just like Paul30:03 had heard stories of the faith of the brothers and sisters in Thessalonica, the people were being encouraged, that other people were watching and wanting. Right? It says that it was ringing out to people everywhere.30:15 People were seeing something in them and then desiring it for themselves. My mother-in-law saw something in her husband, saw someone in her husband that she did not have in her own life.30:27 Someone she desperately wanted. She wanted real faith. Faith that would allow her to trust God even when the cards were stacked against her. Real faith that would carry her30:39 when she felt helpless. She wanted a peace that the world could not give her. She wanted a faith that would allow this young father to offer prayers of faith instead of worry. She wanted30:50 a real faith that would inform every aspect of her life. Guys, she wanted Jesus. And man, did she get him. My mother-in-law is 1 of the most incredible women of God that I31:02 have ever met. She is a prayer Spartan, constantly encouraging and challenging our growing family with her daily scripture reading. We get texts from the wee31:14 hours of the night when she thinks of us, when God gives her a verse for us. She's so connected to God and lives by the power of his Holy Spirit. And after 40 years, over 40 years of walking with Jesus, I can honestly31:25 tell you Her faith in Jesus is the most defining characteristic about her today. He's become everything. That's the type of31:37 faith our world needs to see in us. I mean, really, that's the opportunity in front of us. Our world has gone to the well of culture and self31:49 help and manifesting and visioning and strength, and they've come back dry. Our world needs living water. They need real hope. Hope that's not gonna be in32:00 riches, the fickle ups and downs of the economy. Hope that's not waiting for some perfect political candidate to finally make everything great again. Culture doesn't need hope of the perfect house with the32:12 white picket fence or the life without struggle or trial or problem in perfect health. They need real hope. Paul says this at the end of the portion of scripture that we've been looking at32:24 today. He says, they keep telling us about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true god. And they speak of how you're32:36 looking forward to the coming of god's son from heaven, Jesus, whom god raised from the dead. He's the 1 who rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment. Man, if we could give our lives for anything,32:48 it would be to help this world to turn from the worthless idols that are vying for control of their heart. It would be to turn their eyes and their hearts to look forward to the coming of33:00 God's son, Jesus, who's returning in victory. We have the opportunity to put Jesus on display in a real way by displaying33:12 real faith and real unity. But it's gonna take all of us moving forward as 1. Let's pray.33:24 God, thank you for the church that you began so long ago, The beautiful unity, lord. It was the first place that the rich and the poor gathered together. The men and33:36 women spoke publicly together. The people of different races and social classes, it was this beautifully diverse and yet unified family. God, make us that way33:48 again. That the world would see our beautiful unity. That the world would see our faith on display and want Jesus for themselves. Thank you for the community and the34:00 fellowship of believers that we get to move forward as 1 unified by and covered by the blood of Jesus. Lead us forward powerfully as men in Jesus' name. Amen. See you next time.In this video 0:00 Introduction to 1 Thessalonians10:01 Faith, Love, and Hope in Action23:12 Living Out Real Faith56K followers
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