1) The gospel begins with the fact that God had chosen the Thessalonians for His divine purpose.
2) The gospel is linked to change because when a person receives the word of God, they will be changed. No one can be the same when they come into a personal contact with the powerful message of the gospel. The Thessalonians were changed. In this radical change they received:
a. V4 A new foundation. The ground that the Thessalonians stood on changed from sinking sand to solid rock. They once stood in synagogues trying to figure out the meaning of life. Jesus came and gave them the knowledge that they were so desperately seeking. They began to live upon a new knowledge, a new foundation.
b. V4 A new family. Paul referred to the Thessalonians as brothers loved by God. The word brother is an intimate word. These people were so closely knitted by the blood of Jesus Christ that they were able to see and treat each other as family.
c. V9 A new focus. They turned to God and away from idols. Instead of worshipping images built of stone, they broke their habits of bowing down to those statues and worshipped the true God. They no longer looked to these lifeless idols.
d. V10 A new future. They had no future. When the message of Jesus Christ came, they received a new hope in Him.
3) The gospel compelled the Thessalonians to become followers of Jesus Christ. The gospel didn’t come to them sugar coated. They knew that to follow Jesus meant that they would be persecuted, yet they received it with joy.
Not only did they imitate the messengers that brought them the gospel, they became examples to other new believers. They were only followers of Jesus Christ for a few weeks but already, they became known to all others throughout Europe. They had no pastors or leaders at the time, but they had the Holy Spirit.
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