‘LEARN FROM THE THESSALONIANS.’

When last did you take your bible and read it? Or is it in lockdown as well? In everything that has happened, what have you done or what are you doing? In 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10, these people labored for love, they were slaves of love and they had faith and endurance. Paul mentioned such people in his prayers.

Paul comes and says “imitate me as I imitate Christ” but with this nation, he did not have to tell them to imitate him; instead they saw how Paul lived and they adjusted to that lifestyle. They imitated him without being told to. They knew his life in detail. As much as we have the Holy Spirit, they were always led by the Spirit and as much as we walk by the Spirit they were joyous in the Spirit.

Realize that Timothy, Paul, and Silas came and taught them but when they were writing this letter they were not with them. Hence Paul says, “We sent Timothy to you”. The Thessalonians received the teachings of Paul then they practiced what they learned from them. The kind of perfection that they lived, caused Paul to resign in another way because the Word of God was blooming in them. When we look in the second chapter we see an example that they were among believers.
“…the news of your faith in God… (1 Thessalonians 2)

Paul was supposed to address the Thessalonians but because of the way they lived their lives, he ended up not having anything to say because their lives were the message he had to preach. The person who does not need to say anything is a prisoner of Christ, and yes Paul was a prisoner. Although we know many books written by Paul; when he got to the Thessalonians he was left speechless only by their way of living. They became a message that moved from place to place, the Word of God was moving around as they were moving around. Meaning that these people were not serving idols anymore, but they served a true God and they ended up being an example of what Christians should be.

[Thessalonians 2:1-17]
Paul was tested and trusted by God to be a qualified preacher of the gospel. The Thessalonians made silent a man who was trusted and qualified to be a preacher by their way of living. Paul tried his best to see the Thessalonians and this confirms that they were not in one place, but he and Silas were prevented by the devil to go to the Thessalonians, but after Paul sent Timothy to the Thessalonians and his report was in chapter 3.

1 Thessalonians 3:6, as Paul heard the faith of the Thessalonians he was comforted, and he found pride in them.

[Galatians 1:6- 17]
The Galatians were told about the gospel before and they were loyal to the gospel until something distracted them and they deviated from their position. It is like they received another gospel apart from the gospel that Paul preached to them. Though Paul told them that if anyone comes and preaches any other message apart from that he preached, was a curse. Remember Paul was qualified to speak of the good news of Jesus Christ, so whatever he said was approved by God.

The problem with Galatians was that when they received the other gospel, which contradicted with the true gospel, they confided in flesh and blood and the true gospel was taken from them and they were left with what seems to be the gospel but it was not. From the first book of Galatians, there are rebukes in every chapter, but in the beginning, they were not like that. In Chapter 2, Peter was rebuked because of circumcision. In Chapter 3 it says “you foolish Galatians who has bewitched you?”. He said this because the Galatians have seen Christ portrayed but still went against what they have seen. The other gospel came in secret just so they can shift their focus from Christ who was portrayed to them.

[Galatians 5:7]
Paul was addressing different things that the Galatians were doing, they always had something that shifted their eyes from Christ. If it was not the law it was someone who brought to them the other gospel. Unlike the church of Thessalonians, Paul was not pleased with the deeds of Galatians. They always had something to shift their focus from God.

[Romans 1:8-16]
Believe in God and you will be established. The Romans had faith and they were established. Paul longed to see them so he could impart Spiritual blessings upon them. When you read Chapters 2 and 3 they speak of the Jews, the Greeks and the Gentiles. The Jews received the law and when we read in Chapter 3 it tells of someone who is not a Jew but received the law; and further asks if they will not be circumcised. Yet again if someone who is circumcised but does not practice the law, will his circumcision not be transformed into uncircumcision? The book of Romans breaks down the law and circumcision.

[Romans 2:1]
The one who judges the other is condemned by the one who is judged, but the judgment of God brings the truth, not condemnation. When a person judges the other he is also condemned because they are both doing one thing just in different views. When it says that the judgment of God brings the truth against such things it tells us that there were people doing things that were against the truth of God. You pass judgment and you are condemned it means that you are practicing the same thing that is against the truth of God.

In the book of Thessalonians, it tells us that they are thoroughly tested, and in Corinthians, Paul told them they should have thrown a certain brother to the devil to be tormented so that his soul may be saved. It was because he was qualified to pass judgment and that judgment did not bring condemnation to him. In Romans 1:28, these ones did not like to retain God in their knowledge, the only way you can be able to do that is when you put no other knowledge apart from that of God.

[2 Peter 1:5]
Among the Jews, there were chosen people of God and we have seen that from Genesis, through the law and many more years God has been with them, they were a nation that experienced God like no other, but because they did not practice faith they profited nothing. The church of the Thessalonians on the other hand was profited because of the faith they had. The Galatians were liberated from serving God, but they stopped running their race because of distractions. The Romans were disobedient even though it speaks of those who had faith.

A Christian without faith is crippled, the moment your faith is cripple, you cannot obtain a good report. It can affect the whole of your Christianity. We are told that the just live by faith and without faith, we cannot please God. Therefore, let us continuously run the race of faith like the Thessalonians did; because by their deeds, Paul was comforted even though they used to worship idols they never returned after they were convicted. When you read the book of Thessalonians you will find that they never went astray. When I read that book, I was amazed not to find any fault in them, they are indeed a good example that we can learn from. Let us read the Word, be in the Word, and not deny the Will of God, let us grow in the knowledge of God.

Watch the sermon here:
https://www.facebook.com/YeshuaMinistries1/videos/738529230026296/

YESHUA; A CITY ON A HILL, THE LIGHT THAT CANNOT BE HIDDEN.