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“The
Word of The Lord”
a sermon by
Thomas L. Jenkins
Text: 1 Thessalonians 1: 1-10
The
word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia
[Kaufman] and Achaia [Dallas], but in every place your faith in God has
become known.
Dear Sisters and Brothers, obviously Paul and two of his favorite
brothers in Christ are writing to another one of the original Christian
churches. They are admiring
and thanking this church for ministerial works they have accomplished,
based on the faith of Christ, the love of God, and truly being empowered
by the Holy Spirit to never lose hope.
Paul and his other two friends had heard all of this good news
being spoken about the church in Thessalonica.
One the most interesting stories, in the New Testament Gospels, are
about John the Baptist and Jesus. John
was in jail. And probably
because he was in jail, he sent some of his followers out to find Jesus,
with the purpose of asking him if he is the real Messiah.
Jesus told these men to go back and tell John all about what they saw
coming out of Jesus; healings, other kinds of miracles, and his
fascinating teaching about the kingdom of God, and the will of God
coming to be done on this earth.
After these guys left, in order to give their report to John, Jesus
started to talk about John to the crowd with him.
He was calling John a wonderful human being, giving examples of
his faith, hope, and love. This
presentation of John’s faith, love, and service to God was done by
Jesus in such a way that it was going on without John knowing about it.
Is Jesus Christ, our Lord, always the same in his faith, love, and
actions, when we are thinking about, and imagining his past, his
presence, and his eternal future? Yes
he is. So, even though we
may feel guilty and shameful about sins in our lives, we are still real
Christians. In heaven, and
right here on earth, the word of the Lord is revealing to people the
faith, hope, and love that God has put deep within us.
Sure, this is certainly done when we are not aware of it.
This is one character, of Jesus Christ, the word of the Lord, in
our lives.
Also, this church is being told by Paul that when he and his Sisters and
Brothers in Christ pray for them, every single one of them is mentioned,
and then God is thanked for all of them.
I think some fascinating events would be given to us from God if
every day each of us could be somewhere private and actually picture in
our minds every other one of us, pray for each other, and thank God for
every single one of us. That
would sure be a spiritual experience of the Lord’s Word being within
us.
The greatest truth about our prayers, which is revealed to us by God, is
that they are not even started by us.
Our true prayers are initiated by Jesus Christ, who is living in
each and every one of us.
J.B. Torrance, who was a Presbyterian minister in Scotland, tells a
wonderful story of how he shared this truth with someone who was really
going through a time of suffering; here is his story:
“While lecturing on the theology of worship for Fuller Theological
Seminary in California, I was living in an apartment on Balboa
Peninsula, 200 yards from the sea.
One day, as I was about to have a swim, I saw an elderly
gentle-man walking slowly, pensively, along the shore.
I greeted him as I went into the sea.
When I came out, he was just returning and came to ask me who I
was and where I had come from. I
told him I was from Scotland, a Presbyterian minister on a
lecturing-preaching tour for the states.
His face lit up and he said, “How astonishing that I should
meet you just now!” Then he poured out his story.
After 45 years of happy married life, his wife was now dying of cancer.
She has had surgery. “I’ve
been walking up and down the streets of Newport beach at night,
desperate, because I do not know how to face the future without my
wife—and without faith,” he added.
Then he said, “My father was a Presbyterian minister, and I was
brought up in a godly home. But I have drifted away from the church. When you spoke to
me, remembering how my father was a man of prayer and had wonderful
faith when my mother died, I wish I had that faith.
I have been walking up and down the beach trying to pray, but I
can’t.
What did I say to him? Did I tell him how to find faith and how to pray—
with the purpose of throwing him back on himself?
No, I did not. I
said to him, “May I say to you what I am sure your father would have
said to you? In Jesus
Christ we have someone who knows all about this.
He has been through it all—through suffering and death and
separation—and he will carry you both through it into resurrection
life. He has heard your cry
for faith and is answering…in Jesus Christ we have someone who is
praying for you. He has
heard your groans and is interceding for you and with you and in you.”
When we think of God as the Trinity, we surely think of God the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. The
second person in the Holy Trinity is the Son.
Sure, that’s the truth. However,
what is very interesting is that where the Gospel of John begins, it
refers to the second person of the Trinity as the Word.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through
him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into
being 4in him was life,*
and the life was the light of all people.”
The Word of the Lord is the Son of God.
The Second Person of the Trinity is united with and in your souls
so that you are already in union with the Father, the Word, and the Holy
Spirit. God is in you, with
you, and for you. And very
similar to the story of Christ, the Word of the Lord, telling others
about our goodness without our knowing it; there are also times, when we
could be anywhere, that other people will see the faith of Christ in us,
and we will not even know it. That
is certainly one reason we may thank God for every one us.
Let us pray …
Amen.
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