The last of Pastor Alan’s messages before he left for the winter wrapped up our study of 1 Thessalonians, followed by a message about what it means to be a Christian. I have to apologize that some of the audio is not available and blame it on technology gremlins. I have managed to include all of Alan’s outlines, along with links to BibleGateway for verse references. Enjoy!
Living in Light of Christ’s Return
- We need to be informed about His return, specifically as it related to those that have already died. vs 13-15
- Christ’s return (as mentioned here) is a calling out of the dead in Christ to be with Him.
- A reuniting of spirit with glorified body. 1 Corinthians 15:35-58
- Note: This is not a calling out of those who are not in Christ. v 16
- Christ’s return (as mentioned here) is not on the earth but in the clouds and in the air.
- This event has become known as the rapture, from the word translated “caught up.” v 17
- Christ’s return to bring His own with Him are the words of encouragement to speak into the face of death. v 18
The main idea here is that Christ’s return (as mentioned here) ushers in a time of false security followed by destruction in the form of God pouring out His wrath. Joel 3:12-16, Amos 5:18-20
- We can’t put a date and time on Christ’s return in the clouds. It will come unannounced and it’s unavoidable. vs 1-3
- How to Be Prepared vs 4-8
- Become a child of God. vs 4-5 (John 1:9-13, 1 Peter 2:9)
- Be on the alert and sober/self-controlled by being in the Spirit. vs 6-7 (Ephesians 5:18; Matthew 25)
- Be well-armed for spiritual warfare. v 8 (Ephesians 6:10-17)
- A Believer’s True Security vs 9-11
Knowing and Doing God’s Will
Big Idea: Sometimes, in fact most of the time, God’s will is not some big mystery. It’s spelled out in Scripture as to what God wants us to do. It only becomes a “mystery” when we either don’t know Scripture, or we claim something is God’s will that is not found in Scripture.
Paul is clear in his closing words as to what God’s will is. Romans 12:1-2
God’s will is for His followers to:
- Respect church leadership in love and to keep peace in the fellowship. (vs 12-14a)
- Three Qualities of respectable leaders:
- labor among/alongside those in the Church
- be accountable for words/actions
- admonish (warn/kindly reprove/speak the truth in love) those in the body who are doing destructive things
- Three Qualities of respectable leaders:
- Build up others while being patient. (v 14)
- Admonish the idle (Proverbs 30:15)
- Encourage the fainthearted
- Help the weak of faith
- Tribulation brings patience
- the opposite of patience is retaliation
- Not to be vengeful but to do good. (v 15)
- To be characterized by consistent joy, prayer, and enduring gratitude. (vs 16-18)
- This is the product of abiding
- Abiding comes through prayer and gratitude
- Philippians 4:4-9 – the cure to anxiety
- To be sensitive, and obedient, to the work of the Spirit. (v 19)
- What quenches the fire of the Spirit?
- living in disobedience
- always doing the opposite of what Paul just taught
- What quenches the fire of the Spirit?
- Test what you hear. Upon testing, throw out the false and hold on to the good. (vs 20-21)
- Test it against Scripture so you can tell if someone is pulling the wool over your eyes.
- The more you know the Word, the easier it is to test what you hear.
- Reject what is false but be sure to hold on to truth. Romans 12:2
- Test it against Scripture so you can tell if someone is pulling the wool over your eyes.
- To abstain from what we know to be evil. If you feel a sense of conviction about something, stop doing it. We probably all have something we should quit. That’s between you and God. (v 22)
- Keep the struggle alive: the Christian struggles with sin; the unbeliever enjoys it.
- “Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” -Warren Buffet
- Conclusion: When Scripture is as clear as this, we don’t need to wonder what God’s will is, we just need to do it.
Paul’s Final Instructions
- The Process of Sanctification (vs 23-24)
- Positional sanctification means to be set apart to God for His purpose.
- God does this.
- Practical sanctification means to abstain from evil (such as sexual immorality).
- It involves recognizing one’s body as the temple of God and giving the totality of our being to God.
- This involves God and us.
- Perfected sanctification is the promise of God that He will be faithful to complete the work He has begun in us. Philippians 1:6
- Positional sanctification means to be set apart to God for His purpose.
- Paul’s last three requests. (vs 25-27)
- Pray for us.
- Paul constantly talked about how he prayed for the church at Thessalonica. Now he asks the church to pray for him, Silas, and Timothy. Prayer is fundamental.
- Pray for people on the mission front. 1 Thessalonians 2:18; 2 Thessalonians 3:1
- Greet all believers with sincere genuine affection and inclusion.
- Read the letter publicly. Romans 10:14-17
- Pray for us.
- Paul’s Benediction (vs 28)
- Paul closes as he always does. He begins with grace and ends with it. It’s the life blood of everything. Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 5:1-4; 2 Corinthians 12:9
- General recap of the letter:
- The primary marks of a believer are faith, hope and love. 1:3
- Christians can persevere under persecution. 2:14-16, 3:3-8
- Christians are called to holiness and moral purity. 4:1-8
- Christians are to live in daily awareness of Christ’s return and the resurrection of the dead. 4:13-18, 5:1-11
- Christians are meant to live in common unity with one another. 5:13-15
Central Dynamics to Being a Christian
- Christ in you is your one indispensability. 2 Corinthians 11:3, 2 Corinthians 1:9-10
- Eternal life is knowing God the Father and the Son he sent. Eternal life is not something outside of Christ. John 17:2-3
- Repentance is turning from self and sin and turning to Christ. Psalm 7:1
- Christ’s righteousness, not our righteousness, is the only one that counts. Ephesians 4:23-24
- Christ alone can take us from an abnormal state of fallenness to the normal state of God’s purpose for us. Psalm 8:4-6, Genesis 1:27, 31, 1 Corinthians 2:14
- Yielding of our will to God makes life an adventure in Him. Hebrews 12:1-2
- Christ died to reconcile us but there is “much more”; He lives to save us. Romans 5:20
Conclusion: The only person who ever lived life fully as God purposed was Christ. The only life we can live, to the extent we yield as God purposes us to live is Christ’s life.
Books by Major W. Ian Thomas
The Indwelling Life of Christ – 2006
The Saving Life of Christ – 1961
The Mystery of Godliness – 1964
If I Perish, I Perish – 1968
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