Child
of God, Let Your Life Speak of Christ
Paul praises the faith of the Thessalonian believers.
Amazingly, their bold witness to Christ had spurred on belief
in other cities – so dynamically that Paul had heard about their faith, though
he wrote to them from an entirely different location.
We can learn some valuable lessons from these people about
what it looks like to live faithfully as Christians.
Believers trust Christ and bear fruit.
“We give thanks to God always for all of you,
constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering
before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love
and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we
know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came
to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with
full conviction.” (1
Thessalonians 1) English Standard
Version (ESV)
Paul begins with a message of thanksgiving for the
Thessalonians. In effect, he says, “We are so grateful for your
faithfulness!
And here’s why. He rejoices in the godliness pouring forth
from their lives, recognizing that all good fruit is a result of the powerful
gospel at work.
Paul remembers their faith, their love, and their hope in
Jesus Christ – all very significant manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit.
But Paul does not forget the power source behind such godly living.
The Holy Spirit, working in the hearts of these people,
caused them to believe in Jesus Christ! This belief by faith is where a godly
life is birthed.
Believers submit to and learn from godly examples.
“ You know what kind of men we
proved to be among you for your sake. And you
became imitators of us and of the Lord… “ (verses 5-6).
Simply put, Paul says, “You learned by our example.”
Praise God that many men and women of godly influence have
gone before us, faithfully demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit: obedience, love, diligence, endurance
and hope in Jesus Christ.
What an encouragement to know we can look to the saints for
wisdom and help, submitting to their correction and learning from their
encouragement.
The Thessalonians knew that, instead of reinventing the
wheel, they had people of holy faithfulness purposefully set before them for
their observation and imitation.
Believers value Christ above their lives.
“… for you received the word in
much affliction, with the joy of the
The NIV translation reads, “In spite of severe suffering, you
welcomed the message with joy…”
Paul commends the Thessalonians for considering the gospel
of far greater worth than their very own lives.
These men and women did not run from hardship or
opposition; rather they received Jesus Christ with great joy and endured
hardship with deep trust in their Savior.
Notice that it was their patient, joyful endurance in the
midst of trials that caused their faithful influence to spread to “all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.”
Submission to the
Lordship of Jesus Christ demonstrates a radically
different value system to a watching world, particularly in how a person
responds to suffering.
How different the
life, how influential the faith, of the person who stands up under suffering
with joy because he trusts in the faithful goodness and protective covering of
his Lord and Savior.
Believers live
repentant lives of obedience.
“For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in
Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so
that we need not say anything.
For they themselves report concerning
us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to
God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to
wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who
delivers us from the wrath to come” (verses 8-10).
Finally, Paul tells
the Thessalonians exactly what he has heard through the grapevine: their faith
in God is known everywhere! How can this be?
Their entire lives have changed. They no longer
live for themselves, but for Christ, who died on the cross for their sins and
rose to new life for their sake. What was once appealing in the world is now
unappealing; what the flesh once desired, the new life now resists.
The Thessalonians have new hearts and new spirits and,
therefore, they repent of sin and pursue holy lives.
They anticipate Christ’s coming, and so they serve the
living and true God, rather than the temporary treasures of the world.
As children of God, we have a new calling:
“ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God
making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled
to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20 English Standard
Version (ESV)
The Message Bible renders it this way:
“Because of this decision we don’t
evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah
that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him
that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united
with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a
new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the
relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships
with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah,
giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given
us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s
representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their
differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them.
We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a
friend with you.” 2 Corinthians 16-20 The Message (MSG)
Whether you realize it or not, people are
watching your life. What will they see?
Is the power of Christ at work within you evident?
Are you bearing much fruit and so proving to be a disciple
of Jesus?
Gospel-influence depends on Christ. Believer, will
you let your life speak of Christ?
If you have not yet trusted Christ as Savior, believe that
only he can change your heart today.
Ask God to show you what to do. Pray the following prayer:
“Heavenly Father,
I admit that I am a sinner and my sins have
separated me from you. I now want to turn away from my past sinful life and
begin a new life with you.
Please forgive me. I now receive your Son, Jesus
Christ as my Savior, my Master and my Lord. I believe and confess that Jesus
Christ died for my sins, was buried, and rose from the dead.
I want to receive all
that Jesus Christ has provided for me as my Savior. Your Word says, ‘Whosoever shall call on the name of
the Lord shall be saved’ (Romans 10:13).
I believe and confess that Jesus Christ is the
way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes unto the Father, but by Him.
Lord Jesus, I pray and ask You, to come into my
heart and be Lord of my life. I thank you that you have given me eternal life,
and according to your Word, I am born again.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of the
Holy Spirit that is in me now. I surrender my life to you. Use me for your
glory.
In Jesus Name. Amen.”
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“In
Your Presence / He Is Able”
Morris Chapman
lyrics
In Your Presence
I am content
In Your Presence
I am content
In your Presence there is light
Expressions of Your life
Revelations of Your Power and Might
In Your Presence I can bring
My love song offering
I'm in the Presence of my King
In Your Presence I am content
In Your Presence I am content
In your Presence there is light
Expressions of Your life
Revelations of Your Power and Might
In Your Presence I can bring
My love song Offering
I'm in the Presence of my King
In Your Presence there is light
Expressions of Your life
Revelations of Your Power and Might
In Your Presence I can bring
My love song offering I
'm in the Presence of my King
He is able more than able
To accomplish what concerns me today
He is able more than able
He can handle anything that comes my way
He is able more than able
To do much more than I could ever dream
He is able more than able
To make me what He wants me to be
He is able more than able
To accomplish what concerns me today
He is able more than able
He can handle anything that comes my way
He is able more than able
He can do much more than I could ever dream
He is able more than able
To make me what He wants me to be
He is able more than able
He can do much more than I could ever dream
He is able more than able
To make me what He wants me to be
He can make me what
He wants me to be
To make me what He wants me to be
Amen!
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