Sermon Tone Analysis

I want to begin by thanking Salem Baptist for opening their doors to us!

I cannot express enough how much we have been blessed by this church

Now I don’t know if any of you have ever started a church in your home, but it is a special kind of day when that church gets to move into a more public location!

But I am deeply grateful for this this church and the way God has used Salem Baptist throughout my life.

Introduction

This morning I want to talk to you about this subject, “Reasons to Praise a Church”.

We will be looking at the first letter Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, so if you have your Bibles with you this morning I’d like for you to turn there please.

Everyone loves to be praised.

Children loved to be praised.

Adults loved to be praised.

And churches love to be praised too.

And praise is necessary because it encourages people and encouragement is good for the soul.

Paul knew this very well so when he wrote this letter to a brand new church in Thessalonica, he praised them for the good things he saw there

Now there is a difference in praise and flattering

Flattering is saying something that is not true to gain some kind of advantage

Praise is based upon truth and is used to build another up

And the Bible says never trust a man with flattering lips.

God wants praise worthy churches to bear His name

God wants Salem Baptist to be a praise worthy church

God wants New beginnings to be a praiseworthy church

And that is what this message is about

Three things that Paul indicates as reasons to give praise to this church:

1) Paul praised them for the evidence of salvation in their lives

1 Thessalonians 1:2–4 (NASB95)

We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you;

Paul said he knows that God has chosen the people in this church because there is ample evidence in their lives!

There is an indescribable joy that fills the believers heart when someone comes to faith!

I cannot think of a greater miracle on earth than when God takes a sinner, gives him a new heart, and puts him back into this lost world to live a life of holiness!

Its absolutely amazing!

But I don’t get real excited every time someone walks down the isle and makes a profession of faith.

I don’t get real excited when we’re out knocking on doors and someone tells me they are a Christian yet do not belong to a local church!

WHY?

Because confession without evidence is nothing

If there is no evidence of our faith, James would say our faith is dead

It is useless and it cannot save us

What is it that Paul sees that convinces him that these Thessalonians have been chosen by God?

That the faith they have is the real thing?

(v 3) “your work of faith, and labor of love, and steadfastness of hope”

I want to look a little more deeply into these three things and then hold these up against your life and ask yourself if they describe you?

work of faith

Paul is not simply referring to their good works, but to their faithful work (NLT).

Their deeds done in service to God.

When Paul received a report from this church plant, these Thessalonian Christians were BUSY SERVING THE LORD

Timothy did not arrive to find them sitting on their hands and feet waiting for the second coming of Christ!

This church had adopted the Great Commission as their mission, they had made sanctification their personal goal, they put forth effort to leave their sins behind, and they spent their days lookin unto Jesus who was the Author and finisher of their faith!

And this begs the question: Is that really an evidence of salvation?

Listen to what Jesus told His disciples, “As You (God) sent Me into the world.

I also have sent them (disciples) into the world” (John 17:18)

Followers of Christ are sent to do the will of God!

Jesus gave the Great Commission to His disciples!

We have been equipped by the Holy Spirit of God to continue the work that Jesus began.

Matt 7:21 ““Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”

One of the evidences we can hold up in our lives is if we are faithful in God’s work.

True servants serve

And a mark of God’s servant is IF he serves the King faithfully!

labor of love

Another evidence in this church that was clear to Paul was their “labor of love”.

If ask any of us we would all probably say that we are loving people.

If someone asks me if I am a loving person, I would say, yeah I have some love.

I think I am a loving person.

But notice this is “labor of love”

It carries the idea that love requires hard work, love that can be exhausting at times, love is sacrificial!

And it is easy to love people until it begins to cost us something.

Until it becomes sacrificial love

This is the kind of love Paul seen in these believers

Judah Illustration

One of Judah’s new favorite words is “love”

He tells me all the time how much he loves stuff

Every time he likes something, He says, “My love that daddy”

Every time he desires something he says, “Me loves that!”

Judah’s love is connected to whatever makes him feel good!

And sometimes we can get like that in our lives

If people make us feel good, we feel love for them

If people do us wrong, we are ready to walk away from them

Real love is hard work

Don’t expect it to be easy!

Peter said, “love covers a multitude of sins”

In other words, our love ought to include overlooking the little things in others lives

And if our love does not require “labor” at times, then it is not the real thing

What does this kind of love have to do with evidence of salvation?

Jesus said there are two commandments that sum up all commandments:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength”

And then He said, and the second one is, “love your neighbor as yourself”

The Christian’s faith is all about love.

And if our love ends when it becomes hard or sacrificial, then it was never true love in the first place.

Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

The mark of a Christian is LOVE

steadfastness of hope

This is just another way of saying the ability to endure.

Since this was a brand new church plant, how does Paul know that they can endure?

According to Acts Paul was only with them for three Sabbaths, meaning they had likely only been saved for a few weeks.

BUT The reason Paul left so soon is because there were jealous Jews who ran him out of the city.

They caused a riot, dragged one of his converts named Jason out into the streets and got the city officials involved.

They were so hostile that they even followed Paul to the next town forcing him to slip away during the night and forcing him to go all the way to Athens to escape them.

But through all of that, these believers never wavered in their faith.

They stood steadfast in the midst of persecution!

They stayed true to faith even in circumstances that you and I could not even imagine!

They were willing to loose everything this life offered except Jesus.

And Paul says that kind of endurance is evidence that these people have the real thing.

When we are able to shore up the things in our lives to withstand even the toughest storm because of our Faith, it means our faith is real.