The Shape of the Kingdom is Encouragement

“The Shape of the Kingdom is ENCOURAGEMENT”
 Message @ Jericho Ridge Community Church – Sunday, Oct 18, 2015
Text: I Thess. 1 // Series: The Shape of the Kingdom

Good morning, friends.  Well, with the weather we had this past week, it’s difficult to know is it summer or is it fall [leaf photo]?  Depends what you are looking for.  If you are a summer person, you look at this past week and you might see late August weather in the mid-afternoon and you get excited that you can get a bit more mileage of short sleeve shirts in your wardrobe.  But if you’re more of a fan of autumn, then you might get more excited about the mist in the morning, the cool evenings and the fresh crispness that hangs in the air.  The challenge with this week is that we had both, didn’t we?  So in some ways, it depends where you choose to focus.  The period of time when one season is finishing and the next one is just beginning is like that isn’t it?  It’s a time between times where  

two people can experience the same set of things, and each see something different.  Author and poet and philosopher Henry David Thoreau once famously described this phenomenon when he said “it’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see”.

This is especially true when seasons are changing.  Sometimes seasons change slowly, almost painfully.  We can’t seem to leave one behind and the coming one seems eternally out of reach.  Sometimes seasons change quickly; almost instantly.  When I was growing up in northern BC, for example, we could go from summer to winter in one weekend!  Or in the middle of winter, we could get a warm chinook breeze and we could go from -40 to plus 2.  But the speed of something’s change isn’t an indicator of its quality or its permanence. 

In the New Testament book of Acts, we see some churches that take a long time to come to fruition and maturity and for others, this process happens very, very quickly.  Let me give you an example.  The Apostle Paul, one of the most prominent leaders of the Christian movement in the first century was on his second missionary journey and he came to the major centre of the province of Macedonia, the city of Thessalonica.  Thessalonica was a major naval base for the Roman Empire during this era.  Paul & Silas began to preach in the synagogue for 3 weeks, and Acts 17:4 says that some of the Jews were persuaded, some God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.  Things go quickly but they don’t go smoothly for Paul and Silas in Thessalonica.  The Jews in Thessalonica became jealous and they grabbed some troublemakers from the market.  They stormed the house where Paul was staying at and they dragged the owner before city council – this wasn’t on a charge of bylaw infractions, this was on a charge of treason under penalty of death.  The city was thrown into turmoil.  So late that night, the new believers snuck Paul and Silas out of the city and sent them on their way. 

Three weeks.  That’s all Paul got in the city of Thessalonica to start a church!  Three weeks of preaching and discipleship and then he was forced to move on.  It’s likely that he returned at some point but the whole thing started in just over 21 days.      

So in the book of I Thessalonians, Paul writes a letter back to this church – what does he expect to find?  Depends what you are looking for.  If I was writing, having only been present for three weeks, I’d expect to find chaos and so I’d write a letter that was more like a list of everything I didn’t’ get a chance to tell them in the 3 times I preached there.  “Make sure you’re doing this and this.  And don’t forget about this!”  But Paul, Silas and Timothy write a letter filled with something quite different.  Because they are expecting to find something quite different amongst these followers of Jesus.  They are expecting to see something demonstrably different in their lives and by extension, in yours and mine.    

Today we launch a new teaching series in the book of I Thessalonians which we are calling “The Shape of the Kingdom”.  Each week as we look at a new chapter, we’re going to ask “what are the contours and contents of life in the Kingdom of God?”  When you pray the Lord’s prayer “God, I want your Kingdom to come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”, what are you actively asking?  What elements of the Kingdom of God should we see here and now? 

Turn with me to I Thess. 1 and we’ll find out what Paul, Silas and Timothy expect to find in the lives of those who are living together under the rule and reign of God in the Kingdom of Heaven.  I’ll be reading the chapter in the New Living.   

I Thessalonians 1:1-10 (5 slides)

If Henry David Thoreau is right and it’s not what you look at but what you see, what do Paul and Silas see that allows them to write with such an encouraging tone?  They are deeply encouraged to see a cluster of three things; three qualities that have been shaped in the lives of the Thessalonians, not just by Paul and his work but by the gracious work of the Holy Spirit.  Look at 1:3 Paul is encouraged to find Resilient faith, Loving deeds, enduring hope.  Faith, hope and love.  Does that sound familiar?  If you read other parts of the New Testament, Paul uses this little triad often.  In Romans 5, Galatians 5:5, I Corinthians 13:13… It’s so common in the New Testament, in fact, that it almost becomes a bit of short-hand for the things that a growing follower of Jesus will see taking root in their life.  Paul expects that he will be able to see these things because he is looking for these things.    

This is true in almost any area of life.  You can and will find what you are looking for.  In a marriage, for example, if you want to see flaws, first off, you should look in the mirror.  But if I look at my relationship with Meg with the express purpose of finding what’s negative about it, I’ll find some things that need work.  Every person has them, every relationship has them, every church has them.  But the challenge becomes once I’ve uncovered these flaws, I’ll begin to see them everywhere.  I’ll read them into every conversation.  I can suspicious that everything Meg is saying is to try and cover up something about that issue or flaw.  That I’m the only one that sees how horrible and damaging this thing is.  I’ll find what I’m looking for, even when it’s not present.  On the flip side, I can choose to look at my relationship with Meg or with other people or with the church from a different vantage point: asking “what is there in this relationship that is healthy and worthy of encouragement?”  Wouldn’t you know it, you’ll find what you’re looking for.  You & I can choose what area(s) we want to become experts in: we can become students of weakness or a scholar of their strengths.

This is why we are doing the Giving Thanks bookmark.  Working to help you find what you are looking for.  Let’s take a few minutes now, I’ll come around with the mic and share a bit about one or two things on your bookmark from last weekend and what that experience has been like for you this week.  {BOOKMARK sharing}

This is what Paul does with the Thessalonian church.  He is looking to find areas they are excelling in.  Because part of the shape of life in the Kingdom is encouragement!  So Paul settles around three things: faith, love and hope.       

His first Encouragement Area #1 – Resilient Faith

Remember, Paul was only with them for three weeks.  So if I was Paul, I would be nervous to see if anything I said stuck with these people.  Think about what you could change in your life in 3 weeks.  I can hardly change my diet or exercise plan and get it to stick for 21 days.  But saving faith that takes root in their hearts re-shaped their lives and gave them staying power in the face of great opposition    

• Faith re-shapes our CONVICTIONS
  • “When the Message we preached came to you, it wasn’t just words. Something happened in you. The Holy Spirit put steel in your convictions.” (1:5)

The Thessalonian believes didn’t just say “nice preaching guys, I mentally agree with what you are saying”.  No!  The reception of the Good News of the gospel changed their very convictions about life.  Something happens in you when you say Yes to Jesus.  If you’ve never done that, I’m going to give you that opportunity in a few minutes.  To open your heart and life up to allow God’s Holy Spirit to reshape your convictions.  Not only that, but faith shapes your character.  

• Faith re-shapes our CHARACTER

The church in Thessalonica was birthed in the crucible of suffering.  Hard experiences and hard seasons have a way of re-shaping or refining our character. 

There’s a book that became famous among early Anabaptists as they suffered persecution and hardships.  The book is called the Martyrs Mirror.  It chronicles the stories of deep faith in the midst of incredible persecution from the time of Christ to 1660.  Seventeen centuries of faith being tested in hard times.  One of the stories is about Thessalonica.  The story is told that in 1530’s, the Turks captured some Moravian Anabaptists (Hutterites) and took them as prisoners from Moravia to Thessalonica, where they became acquainted with some local Christians.  To their mutual joy, these Anabaptist prisoners and the Thessalonian Christians discovered a remarkable kinship of spirit.  This lead to a delegation from Thessalonica going to Moravia for a visit with the Anabaptists there.  Recognizing each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, they joyfully shared the Lord’s Supper together.  1500 years later the Anabaptists wrote down that “the church of God at Thessalonica had remained unchanged in faith from the time of the apostles.”  Why?  Their character was shaped by hardships.  I like the way the Message translation puts 1:6: our character is shaped when  

• We learn to receive the trouble with the joy and the joy with the trouble (1:6)

Tyler Harper will preach more about this next weekend in chapter 2. 

So Paul expects to find and encourage them about their Resilient Faith.  He also expects to see this faith not just talked out or talked about, but lived out.  His  

Encouragement Area #2 – Loving Deeds.      

One of the things that Paul is most proud of about this church in Thessalonica is that not just their piety but their activity.  They practice radical hospitality, they care for not only Paul, Silas and Timothy but also each other and those around them.  This is also modeled for them by Paul and Silas…  notice how Paul puts his own life and actions on display for them, not just his theology.  One commentator notes that “Integrity of the proclaimed word is linked to the authenticity of the lifestyle of the messengers” (Believer’s church Commentary, 44)… “The authenticity of the message is corroborated by the behaviour of the messengers.”  And the same is true for you and me, friends…   

• We are called not only to TELL the world about Christ’s love, but also to SHOW them

Our spoken words and our lived witness MUST compliment one another.

• Living words must always be accompanied by loving deeds

This is why, friends, we do things like the House of Hope service project days.  Because we can sit around in rows and for 90 minutes of a Sunday morning and talk about God’s love all we want but that’s insufficient and incomplete.  Let us not just talk about much we love Langley or Surrey or the people of Guatemala or China or Tanzania or Papua New Guinea… let’s show it by our actions.  Living words must always be accompanied by loving deeds.  And visa versa…   

You’ve heard it said that actions speak louder than words.  And for some of us, this can actually be our danger.  Not that we don’t do loving deeds, but that we only do loving deeds and we don’t connect our loving deeds to our living words. 

• Do you feel yourself pulled toward one expression more than the other?

I’m just going to live like a good neighbour and people will fill in the blanks and know I’m a Christian.  Paul says to the Thessalonians, not only did you deeds but

• “The word of the Lord is ringing out from you…” (1:8)

What’s ringing out?  Both their deeds and their faith.  This word ringing is an action and declaration.  Like a pebble cast into a pond.  Like a note played on a trumpet… it reverberates.  Your life is trumpeting a message. How clear is that message and what is being said and understood?    

Paul concludes his chapter by encouraging them not only about their resilient faith, not only about their loving deeds but also about…

Encouragement Area #3 – Enduring Hope

We can sometimes think of hope as a fuzzy concept.  But for Paul, hope is a very grounded and rooted concept.  Look at verses 9 and 10.  Enduring or eternal hope is a combination of two postures in our lives.   

• Kingdom life requires us to TURN FROM things

Paul says “you didn’t just welcome Jesus and add faith into your already cozy life.  You actually forsook some things.  You turned away from idols.  You made sacrifices. Sometimes we can think that this turning from is a one-time event.   I love the way Jared Crossley put it at our Prayer night on Thursday evening. 

• Conversion & repentance is an ongoing movement

A daily, sometimes multiple times daily process of inviting God to cleanse me.

• Ask: “What do I need to turn from today?”

Perhaps for some of you, today is your day to turn away from bitterness or hardness in your heart.  Today might be your day to turn away from anger.  Turn away from fear ruling your life.  Turn away from self-sufficiency.  Sexual sin.    

If you have never made that turn of repentance, friends, today is your day to say yes to Jesus. To embrace the life and the forgiveness He offers.  I Thess. 1:10 is clear on how this occurs: you put your full confidence and trust in Jesus whom God has raised from the dead and who has rescued us not only from the power of sin and death, but also from the penalty of judgement.  Forgiveness is a really big deal. Repentance, turning away from is the first part, but we are also called to

• But also to TURN TOWARD other things. He mentions a few in Ch 1
  • Thanksgiving and prayer (1:2) Which we’ll do in a minute
  • Sincere concern for the wellbeing of others (1:5)
  • Serving others as an expression of love for God (1:9)
  • Faith in Jesus’ resurrection & in His return (1:10)

Friends, hope and encouragement about Second Advent really forms the centre point of the book of I Thessalonians.  It’s all about living our lives in light of the return of Jesus.  This is hard work to do it because it is so easy for me to focus on the negative things or on the challenges of life or what need fixing. 

On Thursday morning this week, I was out for a morning run.  It was early, its fall.  It may be 22 degrees in the afternoons, but the stars are out at 6 AM.  So I’m pounding the pavement and I’m thinking about some of the challenges I need to work through in my day – family stuff that needs attention, church crap that needs working out, personal areas of my life that need to be re-shaped.  And as I though more and more about these things, I got discouraged.  I began to say things to myself like “That part of my life isn’t going to change.  That relationship is always going to be like that.”  I’m looking down at my feet and it was as if the Lord graciously and quietly said “Hey, Brad.  Look up for a minute”  And as I did so, I saw a picture perfect night sky.  This is a photo of the stars over Galliano Island.  But as I looked up, I was struck by the majesty and beauty of creation.  My challenges immediately felt small.  I had been grumping about this and that and it was as if God was saying “Brad, look at all the wonders that I have made.  Do you think I can’t handle your concerns?  The biggest challenge you can think up dwarfs in comparison to the challenge of sustaining the universe.  Creating Orion’s belt.  Keeping the planets in their orbits.  I do all of these things effortlessly because of my almighty power.  I’ve got this one!”  I was reminded in that moment that “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see”

Growing up in the northern town of Dawson Creek, BC, one of the signs that spring was on its way was the appearance of the crocus flowers.  These little flowers are resilient.  I remember not that far from our house, there was a whole hillside filled with purple and yellow bulbs that would poke their way through the still cold earth.  But the challenge with the crocus in northern climate is that sometimes, it emerges before the season has changed from winter to spring.  I can remember countless times crocus coming up and being buried by a layer of snow.  They may look delicate but crocus flowers are tough little buggers!  They can live in a time between seasons, even if that transition takes longer than we might expect.  In this way, the crocus forms a beautiful and powerful picture of the shape of life in the kingdom.  I love how South African missiologist David Bosch puts this truth:

“We live within the creative tension between the already and the not yet, forever moving closer to the orbit of the former. We Christians are an anachronism in the world; not anymore what we used to be, but not yet what we are destined to be. We are too early for heaven yet too late for the world…

“We live on the borderline between the already and the not yet. We are a fragment of the world to come. God’s colony in a human world, His experimental garden on earth. We are like crocuses in the snow, a sign of the world to come and at the same time a guarantee of its coming.”                                                    – David Bosch

Friends, this is the glorious hope to which we have been called.  It’s the hope which we hold out to a world so desperately in need of hope and love.  Not only in words but also through our actions.  We are people of hope who experience troubles with our joys and joys with our troubles.  Grounded in the knowledge that God, who raised Christ Jesus from the dead, who hung the stars in place, who has rescued and redeemed us, who walks with us  in our darkest valleys, is the One who is in charge of the seasons.  In your life.  In mine.  And in His church. Our job isn’t to force a changing of the seasons.  It’s simply to be a crocus in the snow.  To live and speak in ways that our lives become a sign of things to come and at the same time, a guarantee of it’s coming.  Let’s pray together as Jared and team come and lead us in 3 songs of response in worship.  Our prayer team this morning (Deb Jarvis, myself, Ann Marie Inoue) are ready and excited for you to come.  It is our privilege to stand with you in times of hope and times when all hope seems gone.  No need to wear a mask. Let’s pray.