1 THESSALONIANS

I want to land this plane with just a few final thoughts on what it means to be a Kingdom-Called Church. This is not the cake necessarily. This is the icing on the cake. These are just a few final evidences that a church is truly living out its mission and exemplifying what 1 Thessalonians 2:12 says, “walking in a manner worthy of God” and “called into his own kingdom and glory.”

I’m entitling this message today “Showing the Spirit.” Paul doesn’t want the Holy Spirit’s work in the church to be stifled or throttled. The word he uses here is “quenched.”

Church, go ahead and take a seat and turn to the passage just read—1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Today we’re continuing our series “Kingdom Called” in the Book of 1 Thessalonians, nearing the end of this great book.

n the last month I’ve preached on sex, the rapture, and judgment, so I’m ready for something a little easier to preach on. And this topic, church relationships, is easier to preach on, because the applications are built right into the passage. Paul says, “encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with [all]” (1 Thess 5:14).

Let’s take our Bibles together and turn to the book of 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5. We’re continuing today our series “Kingdom Called” in this great book of the NT, Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. And as you’re turning there, I want to start with a quotation from one of my favorite Texans—the incomparable David Crowder.

Church, go ahead and take your Bibles with me and turn to First Thessalonians 4:13-18. As we begin our study of this passage this morning, let me start by asking a probing question of everyone. Here’s the question for us. How do we deal with death? How do we, as followers of Jesus Christ, deal with death, Verse By Verse Fellowship?

Last week, we looked at a pretty difficult passage of Scripture dealing with sexual purity, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8. Next week we’re going to deal with issues concerning eschatology and the return of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). And sandwiched between those two texts is this short passage on love and hard work in the church community. Paul exhorts the church to love diligently and work diligently in the church.

Let me be clear about what we’re going to see in the text this morning. There is a very specific issue that Paul addresses head-on in Chapter 4. Today we are going to look specifically and frankly at the topic of sexual immorality.

But then, all of a sudden, the report came. And what does verse 6 say—it’s “good news”! I imagine that Paul wrote this letter, 1 Thessalonians, right after Timothy returned from Thessalonica.

And from my vantage point, the overarching message that Paul communicates in this passage is that sometimes Satan scores a victory in our lives.

The title of this message today is “What are Christians Called to Do?” And what I want to show you in the text is that the Kingdom of Jesus Christ has already started. It has already begun.

What kinds of things do you need to represent King Jesus before the watching world? What’s required of you as King Jesus’s ambassador?

You know I’m always struck at the difference in tone between Paul’s letter to the Galatians and Paul’s letter the Thessalonians.