The Radical Life Changing Gospel

The context of Thessalonians flows out of Acts 17.  Paul and Silas had just done a prison break out of Philippi and you have to just love Paul`s boldness.  He uses his Roman citizenship to ask for an escort right out of the city and they arrive in Thessalonica.  Paul`s method of evangelism was to first begin with the warm network by approaching the God-fearing Jews and he went straight for the juggler by proclaiming Christ death and resurrection.  He then gathered a following and anytime someone does some `synagogue stealing` or sees a long time church goer switch churches, jealousy often steps in.  The reality was that apart from Christ, the synagogue was a dead place.

Today we want to focus on the radical life changing gospel.

Let’s look at a radical scene that was gaining the attention of the whole world  Acts 17

Reginald Bibby in his findings has discovered that what most engages Canadians about Christians is being involved in ministry and service projects alongside them than in invitations to events. 3 in 10 Canadians value faith.

In the February 2012 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1755-618X.2011.01282.x/full issue of The Canadian Review of Sociology, Bibby points out that 40% of those who are receptive would be drawn in by ministry opportunities.  Some 40 percent indicated that the key lies with ministry that is in touch with their personal interests and needs, including ministries that target children, young adults, and seniors. Explicit emphases on God and spirituality were important to many, as was ministry that gave attention to community and societal issues.

The gospel has to make a difference in people’s lives.  Don’t think about changing in front of them; be the change as you come alongside them. Let them see your work produced…Invite them to meaningful opportunities

Not being changed by prayer (and I would add the gospel) is sort of life standing in the middle of a spring rain without getting wet. It's hard to stand in the center of God's acceptance and love without getting it all over you.” Steve Brown

A Gospel Prayer 1:1-3

1 Paul, Silas and Timothy,

   To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

 Grace and peace to you.

2 We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. 3 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ

Your work produced by faith  - These Christians had the kind of faith that produced good works in their lives. It was not just a lot of talk and it wasn’t works that created faith.  It was the kind of faith that inspired them to do good works.

Your labour prompted by love –  The word for labour here is koros.  It is different from work in that it emphasizes the pain and weariness that is involved in the effort.  Love suffers long, it endures the pain.  How do you nurture this kind of love?

Your endurance inspired by hope in Jesus Christ -  How do you fuel hope, it continually looks forward.   It was their forward looking faith that enabled them to wait for that which is better.  The stuff of this world didn’t cling to them.

These Thessalonians were paying a heavy price for their faith. They were being ostracized by their friends, it was probably costing them financially, and their families may have been rejecting them. But instead of becoming bitter they just got better. They received the word of the Lord and in their receptivity toward God the joy of the Holy Spirit flooded their souls. It is a paradox the world cannot understand. In the midst of pain and suffering the Holy Spirit can give a joy that carries us through it all.

Do meaningful things together… how do they see my work produced by faith, my labour inspired by love, my endurance inspired by hope?

A Gospel Beyond Words 1:4,5

Our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.  You know how we lived among you for your sake.

There is something to be said about a life well lived for the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It goes beyond the ability to be convincing with our words to the place where it is our lives that are the most convincing and how God’s power in made manifest in us.  It is about the Holy Spirit who inspires us to selfless living.  In Acts we see how Jason took the risk to welcome Paul and Silas into his house and he paid dearly for it.  It was his deep conviction that these men of God needed protection and he was ready and he was ready to stand in the gap on their behalf.

Paul also pointed out something else here.  He said ‘we lived among you,’  It is so important to recognize that we are called to live among people who need to hear the gospel.  The fact is that the people who have the most success reaching out to non-Christians are new believers.  Why?  Research shows us that the longer you are a Christian, the less and less you path connect with non-Christians.  We have to be intentional about the friendships that we have and that we learn to break out of bubbles that keep us from really getting to know those who don’t know Jesus.  I will also add that we must be led by the Holy Spirit in all that we say and do.

A Contagious Gospel  1:6-8

And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it,

Paul is saying you became imitators of us.  They weren’t ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ in spite of the suffering that we see in Acts 17 where Jason and some other brothers were dragged before the city officials.

I want to look at something specific here and I want you to notice something with me.

The message rang out!

The message rang out means here to sound like a trumpet.  Their message reverberated out and people were taking hold of it, embracing it and proclaiming it!  It had a ripple effect.

We talk about something going viral on youtube or facebook and the latest focus is on KONY 2012.

He has abducted children to be soldiers in his army or “wives” for his officers. The LRA is encouraged to rape, mutilate, and kill civilians.  They have abducted over 30 000 children.

 Joseph Kony is known as the World’s Worst War Criminal and the goal is to make him famous with the goal of his capture in mind.

How can we make the gospel famous?    Our goal is to capture the hearts and minds of men, women and children with the glorious life giving message of hope in Jesus.

It is a life that is living in radical obedience to the Lord

It is the story of the Heavenly Man, brother Yun’s biography of how God used him through severe torture and persecution inspiring church planters in the house church movement in China.  His message rang out!

I was recently watching the “Untold Stories of Columbine”  as Rachel Scott’s father was retelling her story, the girl  who said I believe in God and the thousands of people who would come to know Jesus at her funeral and beyond as a result of her life. She knew her life was going to serve a greater purpose and that she wouldn’t be married.

I believe as well that sacrificial acts are rarely forgotten.  It is those times were you can clearly see that life change occurred, where the message went from black and white to colour.  It came alive!

It is the leading of the Holy Spirit that brings us to an encounter with the person of Jesus.  It is Jesus who sacrificed His life and who died to set us free.  It is by His shed blood  that we receive forgiveness when we accept His free gift, becoming children of our Heavenly Father!

The New God and New Hope of the Gospel!  V9,10

The change was dramatic and for many of the Greek people, the gods of Zeus and Aphrodite were lewd, sensual, violent and to hear about King Jesus and the kind of love he showed sacrificially was life changing and as a result they looked to serve their new King and anticipate His return.

Sacrificial acts are seldom forgotten.  Bill Hybels

The realization for all of us is that when it comes to the gospel, it needs to go beyond words and like Jesus, the most powerful reminders of love are the sacrificial acts that we show in leading others to Him.