It was a good thing that the church at Thessalonica was strongly rooted in its faith in God. Its founder and leader, Paul, had been run out of town by mobs and attacks leaving this new church with new believers to wade through its early days without its top leadership. If you want further proof that God does things bigger than us, consider how many businesses would survive, let along thrive, if you removed their CEO shortly after their organization. But that's exactly what was happening here.
Read 1 Thessalonians 1:4-6
Just like the early Thessalonian church, our foundation should be built on the salvation that we have through faith in Christ. Having that confidence, we should be filled with an authentic joy that spills over into all of our actions and emotions. So what does authentic joy look like?
"Authentic joy is deeper than emotion." Our joy must come from somewhere. Remember my earlier statement that true joy isn't manufactured from within. So as we grown in Christ, that joy grows through a two pronged approach:
1. Through our knowledge of God - studying the Bible, listening to teachers and preachers, learning more about Him.
2. Through our relationship with God - prayer, listening, meditating. This is going beyond knowing that facts of the Bible and really getting to know the person of God.
"Authentic joy is solid and stable." Since our joy comes from God, our unshakable rock (Psalm 18:2), we know that our joy won't be shaken. We don't get upset when things around us don't go our way, it's okay if our team loses, if our favorite show gets cancelled, or if the ice cream you've been craving is out. Joy doesn't ebb and flow with changing circumstances, it is a constant that comes from within.
"Authentic joy is not found in immediate gratification but by pushing past it." C.S. Lewis says this, "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." Far too often we settle for what the world says we're good at, for what our parents encourage us to do, or what our friends influence to do, instead of seeking what God wants to know which is often so much bigger and so much better than we can even imagine. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it. Seek God's will, work towards His plan, enjoy victory with Him.
The Thessalonians welcomed the gospel message even though they didn't have the long history of believe it and even though they faced harsh persecution from their fellow citizens. Regardless of all of that, they welcomed the message with a joy that flowed out from the Holy Spirit. Go back to v.5, "our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with full assurance." It wasn't just words. It possessed power and the helper in the Holy Spirit. And they had no doubts that what they believed was real.
What's your foundation? Is it salvation in Christ that produces authentic joy, or is it in something else that leaves us feeling the need to constantly pursue something else?
Read 1 Thessalonians 1:4-6
Just like the early Thessalonian church, our foundation should be built on the salvation that we have through faith in Christ. Having that confidence, we should be filled with an authentic joy that spills over into all of our actions and emotions. So what does authentic joy look like?
"Authentic joy is deeper than emotion." Our joy must come from somewhere. Remember my earlier statement that true joy isn't manufactured from within. So as we grown in Christ, that joy grows through a two pronged approach:
1. Through our knowledge of God - studying the Bible, listening to teachers and preachers, learning more about Him.
2. Through our relationship with God - prayer, listening, meditating. This is going beyond knowing that facts of the Bible and really getting to know the person of God.
"Authentic joy is solid and stable." Since our joy comes from God, our unshakable rock (Psalm 18:2), we know that our joy won't be shaken. We don't get upset when things around us don't go our way, it's okay if our team loses, if our favorite show gets cancelled, or if the ice cream you've been craving is out. Joy doesn't ebb and flow with changing circumstances, it is a constant that comes from within.
"Authentic joy is not found in immediate gratification but by pushing past it." C.S. Lewis says this, "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." Far too often we settle for what the world says we're good at, for what our parents encourage us to do, or what our friends influence to do, instead of seeking what God wants to know which is often so much bigger and so much better than we can even imagine. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it. Seek God's will, work towards His plan, enjoy victory with Him.
The Thessalonians welcomed the gospel message even though they didn't have the long history of believe it and even though they faced harsh persecution from their fellow citizens. Regardless of all of that, they welcomed the message with a joy that flowed out from the Holy Spirit. Go back to v.5, "our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with full assurance." It wasn't just words. It possessed power and the helper in the Holy Spirit. And they had no doubts that what they believed was real.
What's your foundation? Is it salvation in Christ that produces authentic joy, or is it in something else that leaves us feeling the need to constantly pursue something else?
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