Share the title reason
Contents
Title: Share Your Reason
Text: (1 Thessalonians 2:1~12)
Hymns: 210. Church like Zion
Date: December 2, 2011 (Fri) 5 am
Venue: Jeonju Yebut Church Small Worship Room
On July 4, 1952, a female swimmer named Florence attempted to cross the English Channel. The sea was very cold that day and the fog was thick. In the end, the first challenge failed. Later, when he succeeded in the challenge, Florence spoke of his previous failures. ‘If I had only seen the land, I would have made it to the end.’ The reason for her failure was not the cold and fatigue, but the lack of a goal. A clear goal and a clear reason become the driving force of life.
1. The reason for suffering (verse 4)
If you look at the contents of verses 1 to 12, there is an expression that stands out. “You know”, “As you know”, “As you know” What the Thessalonians know is the suffering and persecution Paul suffered while preaching the gospel. But Paul endured all the hardships and reproaches he had suffered with joy. That joy is not for man, but for God who searches the heart. Paul's work was not a work that he started, but a work that was thoroughly initiated by God. It is beautiful when you suffer unjustly and persevere for God. When you suffer because of the gospel, please remember the reason.
2. The reason for love (verses 7-8)
If you meditate on the entire book of 1 Thessalonians, you can feel Paul's tender heart for the church in Thessalonica. Paul loved the Thessalonian church like his mother. A mother's love is unconditional love. Because it does not come from authority, it is even risky to lay down your life. This love has flowed from God to us through Jesus Christ and must flow through us to someone else. Is God's love flowing to someone through us right now? Isn't the grace of God who loved me lingering only in me? Taking on the work that the Lord has entrusted to me and sharing the gospel means delivering the love I have received. For those who do not understand love and experience grace, the Lord's work is just 'work'.
3. Reasons for holiness (verse 12)
This time Paul exhorts the Thessalonians with the heart of a father. He taught and demonstrated to his members how to live holy, upright, upright, and blameless lives. Why did Paul make such a toil? This is because they hoped that their appearance would be ‘worthy’ in the presence of God who called them to the kingdom of God and brought them to that place. The word ‘fitness’ used in this text has the meaning of ‘fitness’. Do we live in a way that is worthy of God's children? I hope you live like a child of God in a holy way every day.
<Prayer>
1. May our Yebut Church be filled with works of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope!
2. Let the rivers of living water overflow from the Yebut pulpit!
3. Heal the weak members of the church and give us strength in body and soul!