O Worship the LORD in the Beauty of Holiness        

PAUL AND THE THESSALONIAN CHRISTIANS  

The text for today’s chat is from 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10.

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In this text, we find the Christians in the church of Thessalonica very fondly remembered by the apostle Paul, Silvanus and Timotheus, his co-labourers in the mission field: “Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father.” (1 Thessalonians 1:1–3)

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The church members in Thessalonica had earned the high praises of Paul. Therefore, he had no hesitation about always giving thanks to GOD for them and praying for them. This is the relationship that we are considering in this article. Can the same thing be said about us? Do we have such a relationship with our church leaders? More importantly, how did their relationship become so warm and close?

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To answer these questions, let us look at the three attributes which Paul found so attractive about them in verse 3 - “Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father.”

At the last part of verse 3, we catch a glimpse of the attributes that made Paul fondly remember them without ceasing. He highlighted their work of faith, labour of love and patience of hope in Christ. These are very attractive attributes of a child of GOD, and we can be confident that GOD is pleased when we have these attributes.

Work of Faith

The work of faith mentioned here is not just agreement with a set of pure doctrines or beliefs. For Paul, the work of faith is about one’s character and way of life, as seen in his letter to Titus (Titus 1:5-9). Paul told him to choose men to be Elders according to their character and the way they live, and in verse 9 these two criteria are mentioned as ‘sound doctrine’. And when they or anyone do not live according to these doctrines, he told Titus to rebuke them.

As the pastor of the church, Titus had the biblical duty to rebuke anyone in church who was not living biblically. I also want to say briefly that rebuking one another is not about him/her breaking traditions or norms which are often man-made rules. We only rebuke someone who has sinned against GOD, and only GOD can say what is sin.

The truth about living out our faith is that a Christian cannot say to anyone, “Do what I say, BUT do not do what I do.” Paul describes this in verses 6-7 (“And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost. So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.”) He was an example to the Thessalonian Christians, and they in turn were examples to others. Can our church leaders and members say the same thing to each other? Does anyone look up to us as examples? Do we have the Christlike attributes that would make non-Christians want to know Christ, and that can help Christians learn to be more like Christ?

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A life that is Christlike will be fondly remembered by other Christians, just like the fond remembrance that Paul had for the Thessalonian Christians.

Labour of Love

‌The Thessalonian Christians were actively living out their faith. Paul wrote that besides seeing their work of faith he saw their labour of love. The best way to understand what Paul meant by labour of love is to look at his definition for love in 1 Corinthians 13:4–7:

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• Charity suffereth long (patient),
• and is kind;
• charity envieth not;
• charity vaunteth not itself (not boastful),
• is not puffed up (not arrogant),
• Doth not behave itself unseemly (not rude),
• seeketh not her own (not insisting on its own ways),
• is not easily provoked (not irritable),
• thinketh no evil (not resentful);
• Rejoiceth not in iniquity (does not rejoice in wrong doing),
• but rejoiceth in the truth (rejoices with the truth);
• Beareth all things,
• believeth all things,
• hopeth all things,
• endureth all things.

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All these characteristics of love are also characteristics of Christ. And if we love as Christ does, these characteristics will be expressed as our ‘labour of love.’ Are these the characteristics of our labour as husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, at work, and while serving in the church ministry?

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Can people see that our faith is lived out in our labour of love as defined by Paul? If the answer is yes, then like Paul, others will be moved to give thanks to GOD and pray for us regularly. What a loving relationship this will be in the family and in church.

Patience of Hope in Christ

The last attribute of the Thessalonian Christians that Paul could not help but thank GOD for, and that caused him to remember them fondly, is their patience of hope in Christ.

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Christian hope is about trusting in GOD’s promises as recorded in His written word. In the application of those promises, we ask Him for things. We wait upon Him patiently to either give or withhold these things. Whatever GOD’s decision as determined by His wisdom may be, we wait patiently. We patiently wait upon GOD to work sovereignly that which is best for us according to His goodness, wisdom and power in Christ Jesus.

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Often, much patient waiting upon GOD is needed when we face trials and difficulties that are accompanied by suffering and loss. Yet we dare not insist that GOD must do all things according to our intelligence and need.

The Christians in Thessalonica were known to be patient in their hope in Christ. This was the final attribute that gave Paul fond memories of them.

Conclusion

The Thessalonian Christians did NOT live in faith, labour in love, and hope patiently in Christ for Paul’s sake. They did all this before the face of GOD their heavenly Father. GOD sees everything, and Paul noticed it too.

Such lives will bear much fruit: “For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak anything.” (1 Thessalonians 1:8)

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In order for us to have the same kind of relationship that Paul had with the Thessalonian Christians, each one of us needs to have an intimate walk with the heavenly Father. From that starting point, we relate to each other. This common walk is captured by the apostle John when he wrote, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:3)

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May each one of us walk with the LORD so that we may together testify for Christ and walk with the Heavenly Father in the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us pray for this for one another.

– Joel Seah

Appointments for the Week

Monday, Oct 9

        7.30 pm     ERBL: OT Poetic Books (Rev Charles Seet)

Tuesday, Oct 10

        8.00 pm     Prayer Meeting (Eld Woon Sin Wei)

Wednesday, Oct 11

      10.00 am     SF Meeting (Rm 4-4 & 4-5)

Thursday, Oct 12

      10.00 am     Ladies’ Prayer Group

        7.30 pm     ERBL: The Theology of Prayer (Pastor Tan Soon Yong)

Friday, Oct 13

        7.30 pm     MM Meeting

Saturday, Oct 14

  3.00 pm LTF / YLM / MM

  5.00 pm FEK K2 Graduation

Sunday, Oct 15

  9.00 am Church 73rd Anniversary: Declaring God’s Faithfulness from Generation to Generation Psalm 78:4-7 (Rev Charles Seet)

  9.00 am Chinese Service (MPH)

  9.40 am No Sunday School

11.00 am Fellowship Lunch

  2.30 pm Thai Service (LMH)

  4.00 pm Indonesian Service (Rm 1-6) 

Announcements

73rd Church Anniversary Combined Baptismal Service

15th October 2023, 9.00 am 

Fellowship Lunch after Service 

(Offerings to defray the cost of the lunch are welcome.) 

Holy Communion: Please note that due to the combined service on 15 October, Holy Communion for the 8 am service will be served on 22 October instead of 15 October. 

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” (Psalm 103:2) 

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Door to Door Evangelism 15 Oct 2023

Meet in Beulah Room 2-11, 12.30 pm Contact: Desmond  or Amos   

Traffic Wardens

Lifers are invited to serve our Lord as Traffic Wardens on Sunday. Kindly contact Bro Yeo HS if you are available.

Condolence

Our condolences to Sis Christina and family on the homegoing of her mother, Mdm Teh LL (74 years old), on 5 Oct 2023. 

LTF Camp 2023 4-8 Dec 2023 

“Peter the Man, Jesus his Lord” by Bro Joel Seah.

Registration link: http://tiny.cc/LTFCamp2023eform

Strengthening Marital Relationships in the Church 

Speaker: Rev Gabriel Gan

Date: 4 & 18 Nov 2023

Time: 2.00pm to 6.00pm (followed by dinner)

Venue: Beulah MPH

Registration deadline: 20 Oct 

A nursery programme will run concurrently with the seminar for children 3-8 years old.

https://forms.gle/RrXU9nGYJ2VPjnmz6

MM Thanksgiving Fellowship Meeting 25 Nov 2023; 4-7 pm 

“My Three Pillars of Life” by Rev Daniel Khoo. All are welcome. Dinner is provided. RSVP if you are joining for dinner by contacting Bro Ignatius This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   

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