The joy of seeing disciples made

Heavenly Father, thank you that you speak to us through the Bible, but we need the help of your Spirit, if our minds and our lives are to be changed by what we hear. So, please give us that help now. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“The Joy of Seeing Disciples Made” is what I’m calling this and we’re going to be looking at those verses – 1 Thessalonians 1.1-10. They’re on page 986. Please have that open in front of you.

So, what does it look like to be involved in seeing disciples made? We all have different roles to play in the process. But we do need a picture in our heads of that process of disciple-making. And what we have in 1 Thessalonians 1 is like a case study. Here is a vivid, powerful, and inspiring example of how disciples are made and how they grow. The situation in Thessalonica is one of joyful faith standing firm under trial. Hard times did not quench the joy of the Thessalonian Christians. In fact, their joy was born in suffering (1 Thessalonians 1.6):

…for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit…

And there straightaway is a good test of the reality and the depth of our own discipleship. Is ours fair-weather faith, crowd-following faith? Or is it faith founded on the rock of Christ, unshakeable, immoveable and joyful, however atrocious the spiritual climate? This letter from Paul is written only a relatively short time after the church in Thessalonica began, as a result of Paul’s pioneering preaching of the gospel. It’ll help to know the story of what happened maybe a year or two before this letter was written.

Keep your finger in 1 Thessalonians, and turn back for a moment to Acts 17 (that’s on page 926). Paul has just come from Philippi where he’s been preaching, accompanied by Silas (otherwise known as Silvanus) and a newly recruited member of the team, Timothy. In Philippi they’d been flogged and imprisoned before being allowed to go free. From there they made their way to Thessalonica – the provincial capital of Macedonia. Acts 17.2-10 takes up the story:

And Paul went in [to the Jewish synagogue, that is], as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea…

What happened next? Paul immediately started making disciples in Berea. The Jews who’d attacked him in Thessalonica heard about it. They travelled over to Berea to stir things up there. Paul moved on again, leaving Silas and Timothy behind. Paul made his way to Athens. While he was there, he told Silas and Timothy to go back to Thessalonica to see how the young church was doing under this intense pressure. Paul went south from Athens to Corinth, where he stayed for a couple of years, planting a church there. Silas and Timothy met up with Paul again in Corinth and reported to him. In response to what he heard from them, Paul wrote a letter to the new Thessalonian church plant, to encourage and strengthen them in their discipleship. And we shouldn’t lose sight of how amazing it is that we have that very letter here. So turn back to this First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians – page 986. This is how it starts (1 Thessalonians 1.1):

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:Grace to you and peace.

So this comes from the front line of Paul’s disciple-making and church-planting activity. It’s an astonishing window right into the minds and hearts of those who spread the gospel in those early years. The rioting in Thessalonica and the conversion of Jason and the others is fresh in Paul’s mind. There’s a glorious sense of celebration about what God is doing. There’s also a tender anxiety for the Thessalonians in case they lose sight of what they learned from Paul. He’s all too aware of the pitfalls that they’re facing as Satan tries to destroy the work of the Holy Spirit in them. Timothy and Silas have alerted Paul to some potential problems. But basically the news is very good. The church is faithful, and growing. Paul wants to make sure they stick with it. That’s why he’s writing. His letter is joyful and encouraging, but that’s not so they’ll be able to pat themselves on the back; Paul is arming them for the struggles that lie ahead. And let’s remember that this is written (as Ian put it recently) “to them – for us”. We too need to be celebrating all that the Lord is doing among us, as we are this evening. And we too need to be spiritually forearmed for the struggles that lie ahead. So here’s Paul’s line of encouragement for new disciples in 1 Thessalonians 3.4:

For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction…

There’s no pessimism there. Just realism. So he goes on:

…just as it has come to pass, and just as you know.

The greatest struggle of those new Christians would be the battle with discouragement in the face of opposition and suffering. It’s important for us to realise that suffering for our faith is nearly always easy to avoid. All we have to do is one of two things. Either keep quiet about Jesus and the gospel or compromise the gospel in order to remove its offence. If we either shut up, or we change our tune, we can lead a quiet life and the progress of the gospel will stop dead. We will no longer see disciples being made. But if we stand firm in Christ, amazing things will happen. Here in 1 Thessalonians 1, Paul talks about three aspects of how disciples are made, as part of his strategy to encourage the Thessalonians – and through them we too can know the joy of this encouragement. So:

1. The power of the gospel makes disciples

Look at 1 Thessalonians 1.4-5:

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.

And then on to the second half of 1 Thessalonians 1.6:

…you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit…

The whole process by which we become disciples is compressed into those verses. This is the way God is gathering his people from every corner of the earth, and in every age. First century Macedonia, or Tyneside in 2024 - the process never changes. Let’s track it through:

Step One: God himself takes the initiative. God the Father loves his people and determines to save them from condemnation. He sends his Son to die in their place and opens the way for them to be forgiven. He raises Jesus from the dead and sets him on the throne of heaven.

Step Two: God explains what he’s doing to his spokesmen the apostles – not least Paul, the apostle to the gentiles. He pours his Holy Spirit into their lives, transforming them from within, empowering them to live for him whatever the cost, convincing them in every fibre of their being that the Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of the world. These apostles are God’s primary agents for making disciples of all nations. They define the gospel for all time, on God’s authority. That’s what we have here in the New Testament.

Step Three: As the apostles proclaim the good news of Jesus, God pours out his Spirit on their hearers also, and transforms them from within. As a result, they believe that Jesus is their Saviour and their King. And they give up their idols and their hard-hearted rebellion against God’s rule, and find forgiveness, peace, eternal life, and an unquenchable joy.

Step Four: Then they in turn begin to tell the gospel to others. They become God’s secondary agents for making disciples, teaching what it is to live out the gospel defined once for all by the apostles.

Step Five: Then more and more disciples of Jesus are made throughout the world and down the centuries. The gospel is communicated (1 Thessalonians 1.5):

…not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.

If our disciple-making is to be life-giving and effective, then that is what it must have: God-given words, God-given power, and God-given conviction in our hearts. We have to talk to people about Jesus, and we have to have spiritual power. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, no one becomes a disciple. And no one grows as a disciple. 1 Thessalonians 1.6:

…you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit…

That’s why Paul is so sure that God has set his love upon those Thessalonians and saved them. The gospel was explained to them with truth, and power, and conviction and they believed and received Jesus, and rejoiced. That is the power of the gospel that makes disciples. It is all the work of the Holy Spirit.

2. Disciples are made by grace through faith

1 Thessalonians 1.3:

…remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

God-given faith in the saving death and resurrection of Jesus inevitably brings in its wake both love for others, and hope for the future. Faith, hope, and love. You cannot truly have one without the other two. Hope-less faith is no faith. Love-less faith is dead faith. But loving, hope-filled faith is powerful. It inspires us to consistent hard work for the Kingdom of God. By God’s grace it results in other people coming to faith too. So in this letter Paul’s love for the Thessalonians shines out. So does their love. 1 Thessalonians 2.8:

So, being affectionately desirous of you, [or, as the NIV puts it rather more elegantly, “we loved you so much”] we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

1 Thessalonians 3.12:

…may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you…

Do we love those we seek to influence? There is no way that God will use us to make disciples of others if we don’t first love them. Let’s be praying that the Lord will make our love increase and overflow. And what kind of hope is this that’s in partnership with faith and love? It is a patient longing for the promised return of Jesus. The Thessalonians turned to God (1 Thessalonians 1.10):

…to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

This is a letter saturated with faith in what Christ has done in the past, love for others in the present, and hope in the Second Coming of Christ. It’s a joy to be able to celebrate the faith, hope and love that we experience in the life of this church family. And let’s be praying that we too will be more and more saturated with them. And when we come to the tough times up ahead, let’s remember that faith, hope, and love are the armour worn by the soldier of Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5.8:

…since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

When those three are present among us, then the life of our church has an impact for Christ. God will do his miraculous disciple-making work through us. Paul and his team were a living example of that (1 Thessalonians 2.9):

For you remember, brothers [and sisters], our labour and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

And the result? 1 Thessalonians 1.9:

…you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God…

Disciples are made by grace through faith – and the love and hope that flow from it. And what Paul says there also illustrates the third thing that is so clear here. So:

3. Example encourages the growth of disciples

The gospel, by grace through faith, empowers us to become imitators. Disciples are imitators (1 Thessalonians 1.5-6):

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

i). We become imitators of the Lord – of Jesus. His self-giving love becomes the pattern for our lives.

ii). We become imitators of the apostles. Their message becomes ours. Their dedication to the gospel impresses itself on our lives.

iii). We become imitators of other believers who are more mature than us, and who’ve been in the battle longer than us. 1 Thessalonians 2.14:

…you, brothers [and sisters], became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea.

So other Christians, and the apostles, and Jesus himself impress us deeply. Their example becomes compelling to us. And then, in turn, by the grace of God, we too can become an example to others. 1 Thessalonians 1.7:

…you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

And so the tidal wave of the gospel spreads further and further. That’s how it’s always been. And now it’s reached us – and that’s at the heart of our celebration and our joy. I’m so thankful for the faithful Christians around me who have inspired and encouraged me over the years. Who do you thank God for, who God has used in your life?

So here’s the challenge to us. By God’s grace and in the power of the Holy Spirit we should be living for Christ in such a way that our lives impress those who are not yet believers, and inspire and encourage those younger than us in the faith. The gospel, communicated with truth and power and conviction, makes disciples. A faith that works, allied to love that labours and hope that endures, is powerful and makes disciples. The example of those who follow in the footsteps of Jesus is powerful, and encourages the growth of disciples. Let’s pray:

Lord Jesus, we rejoice that through the gospel, and through examples of living faith in the lives of your people, you are making and growing disciples all over the world – and among us. Please make us into mature disciples, full of faith, who will keep obeying you and rejoicing in you in spite of whatever suffering comes our way. Deepen our love for those around us. Enable us to tell others about you. Empower us to be examples of what it means to live for you. Use us, Lord, for your glory. Amen.