Characteristics of An Exceptional Experience in Christ and His Church
1 Thessalonians 2:2 says…
2 We always thank God for all of you, making mention of you constantly in our prayers.
We see in this verse the characteristic of appreciation.
How many of you grew up handwriting thank-you notes? Someone would give you a gift, and the immediate response was to go home, sit down, and actually handwrite a thank-you note. It’s a little different nowadays. You give somebody a gift, and what do you get back? A text message with the thumbs-up and heart emojis. Somehow that has replaced the thank you note. Paul stresses the importance of appreciation here. He talks about gratitude and being prayerful.
When was the last time you really thanked someone for what that person did? What would it look like if you found that person today and thanked him or her from the bottom of your heart? I’ll bet it would make that person’s day. And if you really want to bless someone, commit to praying for him or her on a regular basis. That’s one of the greatest gifts you can give.
1 Thessalonians 2:3 says…
3 We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work produced by faith, your labor motivated by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
The characteristic we see here is commendation.
Paul takes time to commend the church for some of the things they were doing really well. Their faith translated into works. Their love became labor. Their hope became endurance. If you want to have an exceptional church experience, you should commend other believers at every opportunity.
When you see someone in your discipleship group growing, you should commend them.
When you see one of your fellow Christians commit an act of love, commend them.
Maybe it’s someone in our student ministry who works with one of your kids. Commend that person.
It could be a teacher or a coach.
Maybe you know of someone who’s going through a rough time. Take him or her out to lunch and do some encouraging.
Part of commendation is taking the spotlight off of ourselves and putting it on others in recognition.
1 Thessalonians 2:4-5 says…
4 For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with full assurance. …
Here is the characteristic of validation.
This seems to be the heart of Paul’s letter. He says, “You’ve been chosen by the God of the Universe. You are divinely selected. The Lord made it possible for you to hear the Gospel, respond to it, and accept it.” Your identity, above everything else, is that you are a child of God.
Paul says their faith was evidenced by more than just their words. They put their faith into action with power by the Holy Spirit and conviction. And they lived in a time when it was illegal to be a Christian. It was risky, but it was also exciting for them to serve God.
And I want you to think of some of the settings and some of the experiences that you can have right now, today, in your relationship with God at a time when it’s not illegal. How does God validate you?
When you open your Bible and read it, you can feel like that passage was written just for you. It can be the perfect solution to what you’re going through at that moment. That’s validation.
When you pray to God, you realize it’s more like a dialogue or a conversation with him rather than a monologue of just one person talking. That’s validation.
When you stumble into an unplanned spiritual discussion with someone, you realize that it was God-ordained for you to be there in that moment. That’s validation.
When you come into the worship service on Sunday morning, you can’t wait to see how God is going to show up and connect with you. That’s validation.
And let me just hang there for a moment and ask you a few questions.
Do you come here on Sunday mornings in anticipation?
Do you sit in your seat and get your heart and mind ready to hear from God?
Do you expect the Holy Spirit to move through a lyric of a song, a verse from the Bible, a greeting from a fellow worshipper, or a line in the sermon?
God says he’s going to be here.
We’re expectant in other places in our lives. When we go to a football game, we expect to have a good time. We expect our team to win. We expect to have camaraderie with fellow fans. We expect great things from our careers, our education, and even our friendships. Why not at church?
I’m afraid all too often many Christians come to worship with a pitchfork ready to poke and prod every little thing. What if we came to worship with a rake ready to gather and glean all that God has for us each week?
It’s easy to come in here and think that God’s going to show up for everyone else. But God is going to show up for you, and you need to be expectant.