May the Lord be with us again
this evening as we turn to his word. And we'll turn to the chapter
we read in the epistle to the Thessalonians. The first epistle
to the Thessalonians in chapter one. And we'll read together
tonight verses six and seven. The first epistle of Paul to
the Thessalonians, chapter one, verses six and seven. 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 in samples to all that
believe in Macedonia and Achaia. We read at the beginning of Jesus'
ministry of those two disciples who were followers of John. One of them we know was a man
called Andrew, and it's thought that perhaps the other one was
John the writer of the gospel, although it's not said explicitly. But these two disciples followed
John and his teaching, and they were with him in his works. But
there came that day when John pointed them to another man,
and he said, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the
sin of the world. And from that moment, these two
men turned from John the Baptist and followed Jesus Christ. They realized who he was. They realized that he was greater
than even John. They realized that surely here
is the Christ. And in his wonderful work as
the Christ, he would be the fulfillment of the Old Testament sacrifices.
He would be the Lamb of God. That day changed those two men
completely. They would never be the same
again. What they had come to realize that day made them then
go to others to tell them. They went to find, Andrew went
to find his brother, Simon, to tell him. And the news started
to spread that they had found the Christ. Their life would
never be the same again. And of course, one day in the
not too distant future, these two, Simon and Andrew, would
be fishing, and Jesus would call them, follow me. Christians today do not just
blindly live a Christian life. They do not just hope that they
are doing the right thing. Believers follow Jesus Christ. To follow, in this word here
we have in verse 6, became followers of us. And to follow here means
to imitate someone, to seek to be like them, to seek to go where
they go and to do as they do. A follower, or someone who imitates,
or a disciple is someone who learns of Jesus. And in that
sense, every true believer in the Lord Jesus throughout the
ages is a disciple, is a follower, is a learner of Jesus Christ. But the believer, you see, has
a focus on him. And if we are trying to live
the Christian life with our own thoughts and our own ideas, and
just hoping for the best that what we do is right, then we
will probably go wrong. We are to be followers of the
Lord. And He is to be our focus. He is to be the one we seek to
follow, to imitate. And so firstly, we must be clear
here, the Apostle says, ye became followers of us and of the Lord. And so I want to consider the
second part first. Ye became followers of the Lord. As I say, a Christian follows
Jesus Christ. And for a believer, you see,
following Christ is an automatic response. It's an automatic response
to His grace toward them. Because He has shown such love
and mercy and compassion in saving their soul, they automatically
follow after Him. It is, in that sense, something
that they cannot help doing. You see here in the verse before,
in verse 5, Our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also
in power and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, as ye
know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. And
ye became followers of us and of the Lord. You see, they became
a follower of the Lord because they had experienced the power
of the gospel. He had come to them in this wonderful
display of grace. They had known the inward work
of the Holy Spirit, applying the word of the gospel into their
souls, and they had known the assurance that flows from the
mercy of God. As we thought this morning, that
the word was not just word for them, but it was in power and
in the Holy Ghost. And this glorious, life-changing,
converting power of God, through the preaching of the Gospel for
these, changed them. It radically transformed them,
and they became a follower of Jesus Christ. It was something
that automatically came. Again, we must emphasize, as
we did this morning, how much we need the Word to be applied. how much we need the work of
the Holy Ghost to bring the power of the Word home to us each. It's a little bit like if I can
use a simple illustration. Some of us may have at home a
leaflet, an information about a doctor's surgery. And you will
there find information about the names of the doctors. You'll
be told what time the surgery opens and what time it closes.
You'll be told the contact details of how to ring them and what
things and services they offer. You may have all sorts of information.
But that leaflet is probably filed away somewhere all the
while you're feeling well. It's not something you particularly
need. But when you are ill, Perhaps
when you are very ill, that leaflet becomes very, very important.
Suddenly the information, which you had once really put to one
side, is vital. You need that phone number, or
you need those opening times, or you need to know what services
are there. It's vitally important, because
your situation has changed. You need them. And so that information
is so important. Well, simply, it's a simple illustration,
but it's a little bit like the word of God. You see, the Lord
opens our eyes and our understanding, gives us a need. And that word,
which perhaps we've read many, many times, it comes to life
because it answers a need. And you and I may have heard
the preaching of the gospel and the good news of the work of
Jesus Christ many, many times, but until we see our personal
need for it, that gospel really is, if you like, filed away,
because we don't see it being important. But when we do, And
when we realize that we are dying, and that we are sinners, and
that we face a holy God, then the righteousness of Christ,
and the mercy of God, and the freeness of the gospel, it comes
to life. That is the power of the Holy
Ghost. And so these Thessalonians had
known that power, and had known the assurance of salvation that
comes through the work of the Holy Ghost. And they became followers
of the Lord. To use another picture that the
Lord himself uses, in John chapter 10 we read that well-known passage
about Jesus being the good shepherd. And he says, I am the good shepherd
and I know my sheep. We read, the porter openeth the
door to him, the sheep hear his voice, he leadeth, he calleth
his own sheep by name and leadeth them out. He calls them and leads
them. A stranger will they not follow,
but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers.
You see, he calls them. They know his voice and they
follow him. My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand." Here we have the call of Jesus Christ. He
comes to his sheep, he comes to his people, he calls them
by grace, and they hear the voice. With joy, they hear the voice
of their beloved, of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he personally,
by name, calls them out. And they follow. These sheep
you see in this picture, these sheep who hear the voice of the
shepherd, who recognize the voice of the shepherd, when he then
leads them out, they don't stay back in the fold. They follow,
they go where he leads, he's called them out. They're his,
sorry, he is their shepherd. And this is what the Lord is
teaching here. His people, when they are called by him, they
do not then stay back in the world, but by the wonderful,
irresistible grace of God, they follow. And they can never be
plucked out of his hand. I think I've quoted it here before,
but many of you children and older ones as well will know
the account of Ferdinand the Engine. And there's a beautiful
part of that story that after he is rescued from the beachside,
the scrapyard that he had been lured into, And he's told that
he has to throw out all his coal and water and everything of himself,
all that's inside himself, and trust only in the strength of
the chain that Morningstar, the other engine, is pulling him
up from the cliff. And he comes to the top of the
cliff, if you like. He's been saved, we might say in Christian
language. He's been brought up and put
back on the rails. And then he said, but I would
follow that engine, that Morningstar, wherever he would go. But he
had no coal, he has no water. I can't go anywhere, I'm useless,
I have nothing, he says. But then he realized he was moving,
he was following, he was going on after. And he realized that
chain that had held him and pulled him up was still attached. And
it says, these beautiful words, he was following, he could do
nothing else. And that is the wonderful work
of God. He calls his people and they follow him. But of course we must also remember,
as much as there is an automatic response to the grace of God
of following him, put in a narrow way and following the Lord, there
should also be an active following of the Lord. His disciples, when they were
in the boat, Peter and Andrew, they were fishing. And he came
by and he said, follow me. Now they needed to actively get
up, leave their nets, and follow. They had to, if you like, make
that decision. And so we are called, yes, we
automatically follow the one who has saved us, but we are
called in our life to actively follow him in the things that
we do. in the decisions that we make.
We do so, or should do so, with this in view. I am a follower,
a disciple of Jesus Christ, and so I go where He leads. I do
as He tells me. I seek His will in His Word,
and I seek for help and strength to walk that out. And of course,
that includes the New Testament commands. That includes the ordinances
of baptism and the Lord's Supper. We are called to follow the Lord. You can be a follower of the
Lord Jesus Christ and not partake of the New Testament commands,
of course. You can reach glory having never taken the Lord's
Supper. But that doesn't mean that we are not called to actively
follow Him. And we should. But we must view
these things as following the Lord. Not pleasing men and not
obligations that we feel are just placed on us by others.
It is a following of the Lord. You became followers of the Lord. But you see then just going back. These also says you became followers
of us. He became followers of us. And
so the Christian, first and foremost, is a follower of Jesus Christ.
But there is a sense here in which Christians should also
be followers of others. Followers of others. Now we might
say, sometimes you might be warned against that. We don't follow
men, do we? We follow the Lord. But you see,
inasmuch as those men are examples of the Lord, then we should follow
them. He became followers of us. Paul describes this to the Corinthians
in the beginning of chapter 11. He says to them, be ye followers
of me, even as I also am of Christ. Be a follower of me. He is an example to them. Here's someone who they should
seek to be as, to imitate the Apostle Paul, but as much as
he was a follower of Christ. In the second chapter of this
epistle to the Thessalonians, we read in verse 14, ye brethren,
so this is the Thessalonians, became followers of the church
of God which is in Judea, which in Judea are in Christ Jesus.
They became followers of the churches of Judea. And so they
saw them as examples. And they sought out those good
examples and they followed them. And so we should be looking to
good examples around us of how we should be a follower of Jesus
Christ. They don't take the place of
Christ. They are not better or more important
than Christ, of course. And always remember men are fallible
and liable to be wrong. But we should, as they follow
in the Lord, remember that there are examples in front of us.
He became followers of us. Now this is particularly true
in the leadership of the church. The apostle, when he writes to
the Hebrews, reminds us of the importance of those who have
the rule over us in the church. In chapter 13, verse 7, he says,
Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken
unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the
end of their conversation, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and
today, and forever. Again later on in the chapter,
obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves,
for they watch for your souls as they that must give account,
that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that
is unprofitable for you. And so we are to remember those
who have the rule over us, and this is in a church context.
Those who watch for the prosperity of your soul, those who have
spoken unto you the word of God. And we are therefore to look
to the leadership of the church as that kind of example, and
they said, whose faith follow? But remember the end of their
conversation, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and
forever. And so as they speak of Christ,
as they lead us into the truth of Christ, as they teach us of
the ways of Christ, we should follow after them. Obey them,
they have to rule over you. For they watch for your souls. The leaders of the church should
be examples to the flock. The New Testament sets out two
key positions in the leadership of the church. The positions
of elders, or bishop, or pastors, and the position of deacons. And the qualifications for those
two positions are clearly spelled out for us in scripture. In the
first epistle of Timothy, we are told very clearly what is
set before us in these places. 1 Timothy 3 is the main passage
on the qualifications of the leadership of the church. He
says, this is a true saying, if a man desire the office of
a bishop, so this is the position of an elder, he desireth a good
work. A bishop must be blameless, the
husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given
to hospitality, apt to teach. Not given to whine, no striker,
nor greedy for filthy lucre, but patient, not a brawler, not
covetous. One that ruleth well his own
house, having his children in subjection with all gravity.
For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall
he take care of the church of God? Not a novice. lest, being
lifted up with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the
devil. Moreover, he must have a good report of them that are
without, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Now, you see, the Lord has set
out these important qualifications for us to carefully and prayerfully
consider. It is not unimportant. It's not
something that we can just easily gloss over. There is also laid
out for us in the first chapter in the epistle to Titus. Similarly,
a bishop must be blameless as a steward of God, not self-willed,
not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to
filthy lucre, and much of it flows together. It is striking here, and I think
full of instruction. It says, In that chapter we just
read, 1 Timothy 3, it's a true saying, if a man desire the office
of a bishop, there should be a desire. There should be a heartfelt
desire for the work of the leadership of the church. It should be a
God-given concern that they might serve the Lord in that way. They
desire the office of a bishop. He desireth a good work. Their heart must be in it. Their heart must be in it. Not
through, as he said, through filthy lucre, not for the money,
not for the prestige, not for the pride of the position, but
the heart must be in it. In fact, they must be given to
hospitality, they must be selfless, they must be full of charity. Their heart must be in the work. positions should also be considered
in light of their role and their conduct in their own home. He
that ruleth well his own house. And so the life shouldn't just
be, well, this is the church life and this is how I act with
my church people, but I'm completely different and un-Christian-like
at home. There should be this flowing together, a life of the
bishop, a life of the elder. And then, of course, we have
the other position of deacons in the church. And 1 Timothy
3 goes on to that position. Likewise, must the deacons be
grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy
of filthy lucre, holding the mystery of the faith in a pure
conscience. Let these first also be proved,
then let them use the office of a deacon being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave,
not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons
be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children in their
own houses well, for they that have they used the office of
a deacon well purchase for themselves a good degree and great boldness
in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. You notice the beginning
of that reading in verse 8. Likewise must the deacons be
grave. You see, much of the qualifications
flow between the two positions. And so we must be careful not
to say, well, deacons are a demotion, a much lower position in the
church. Much of the qualifications flow between two, both positions. You notice, the position of elder,
you are not to be a novice. But the position of deacon, let
these also first be proved. If you like, there's a same position,
there's to be a testing. They are not also, in that sense,
to be a novice. It is an important role, an important
position. Also, we see here, the importance
of their wives. They should be the husband of
one wife. And for the deacons, their wives
must be grave, not slanderous, sober, faithful in all things.
There's the responsibility that comes in the marriage, in the
family, from men in these positions. Now, the reason I say all of
this about these two positions and the scriptural authority
for the role of elders and of deacons is because you should
be followers of us. You should be followers of those
who have the rule over us, who teach unto us the word, and who
watch over our souls. And therefore it is important
that we scripturally consider those who have the rule over
us. That we follow the qualifications
and instructions of the Bible, that those over us might be a
good example, that they walk it out. and that we, by God's
grace, seek to follow after them. You know, it's true, isn't it,
that in a world at large, it's a true saying, people follow
your example more than they follow your words. And you can say many,
many good things, but if your walk doesn't fit with your words,
then people are more likely to follow your walk. And we must
be careful that what we say is consistent with what we do. And so we have here, a Christian
is a follower of Jesus Christ, but a Christian is also, in the
right sense, a follower of others. But then you notice this. He
became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the
word in much affliction with joy in the Holy Ghost. so that
ye were in samples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia."
Now, this church at Thessalonia, they had benefited from the example
of the people of God in Judea. They had benefited from the example
of the Apostle Paul. They were a follower of him.
And as a result, the churches at Macedonia and Achaia were
seeing them as an example. They were looking up to the Thessalonians
and they were seeking to emulate, to imitate them. And so we remember
that the people of God, a Christian, does not just look up to the
example of Christ and of the leadership of the church, but
we must remember that all of us are examples. And how much
prayer is needed, that we might be helped, that we might be kept.
so that we are a consistent and a faithful example. And what
do we want it to be? Not so that people say, well,
I'm like you, I want to be like you. Surely our concern should
be that people see Christ in us. That people follow Christ
who we seek to follow. That they see something of his
wonderful beauty and love. They see that we see him as a
wonderful example, but more than that, that we see him as our
friend, our husband, our beloved. We see him as our savior. We
see him as the one who has loved us and embraced us with an everlasting
love. As someone who seeks to do his
will because he gave up everything for the salvation of our souls. Oh, don't we want to point them
to Christ? We read together in the Epistle
to the Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 5. In Ephesians chapter 5 we
have many, many things, if you like, that the Lord's people
should be seeking to do in walking and following the Lord. You see
how it opens. Be ye therefore followers of
God as dear children. But what's the motive, as the
Apostle brings out here? What's the motive for being a
follower? Well, it's in the last verse
of the previous chapter. Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven
you. Be ye therefore followers of
God. Therefore, because God for Christ's
sake has forgiven you, because of his wonderful love and mercy
towards you, therefore be a follower of God." This is the great motive. This is what we should have our
eyes focused on, the mercy of God toward us. And we then have
throughout the chapter many, many things and encouragements
in how The Lord's people should be in being an example as a follower
of the Lord. We're told, verse two, walk in
love. Walk in love. Oh, how hard that
is. How against nature it is to walk
in love. Because we are self-centered,
we are proud in ourselves. And so how are we to walk in
love? Well, we're to remember, as Christ also hath loved us. We are to remember the greatness
of his love and then pray for the help of God to walk in love. He's given himself for an offering
and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor. And so the example
of God's people should be seeking to walk, to imitate something
of that sacrificial love. There should be a giving of thanks,
a life of thanksgiving. Verse 4, neither filthiness,
nor foolish talking, nor jesting which are not convenient, but
rather giving of thanks. Oh, what an example it would
be to the world around us if we lived in the light of thanksgiving. If we gave thanks for the blessings
of God, if we gave thanks for his favor towards us, and if
we lived in thankfulness, not just in his goodness in our life,
but we spoke of his grace and his mercy that we have known
in our soul, what an impact that might have as an example to others,
rather giving of thanks. Also, as an example, we are to
be a light in the world. Verse eight, you were sometimes
darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord. Walk as children
of light. Walk as children of light. Seek
to show forth the glorious gospel. Seek to speak and to walk in
the light of the truth of God. Again, you say, well, how can
I shine in the darkness? If we know anything of our own
hearts, We feel that we are the darkness, don't we? I'm lost
and dark. How can I ever shine for the
truth in a dark world around me? Well, remember what the Lord
says. He says, ye are the light of
the world. But he also says, I am the light of the world.
And the light that the Christian shows forth of the truth of the
word of God in this world, the light of the gospel, is a reflection
of his light. It's like the moon that reflects
the light of the sun. O that the Lord might shine more
and more upon us, that we might more reflect something of his
light in the darkness. Walk as children of light. But
remember, by God's grace his people have been made children
of light. And so our desire should be,
as an example, to walk before our fellow men as children of
light. We are also to walk wisely and
carefully. 15. See that ye walk circumspectly,
not as fools, but as wise. We are to seek to walk accurately
in the line of the Word of God, in line with His will and His
purpose for us, that we might know and seek the will of the
Lord. 17. Be ye not unwise, but understand
what the will of the Lord is. And so may people see. that example
that we seek to do the will of the Lord. And that may involve
sacrifices, that may involve suffering. And people may well
ask, well, why have we done that? Why have we made that decision?
Why have you passed over that opportunity? Why have you moved
to that place? Why are you serving the Lord
in that way? Because I believe it to be the
will of the Lord. Oh, but that's not going to increase your employment
prospects, but I believe it to be the will of the Lord. But
what about your income? That's going to suffer. I believe
it to be the will of the Lord. You see, what an example. Not just to the world, but to
the Church of God. Because the influences of the
world will always come into the Church of God. And people will
be tempted to imbibe the views of the world. My way, my plans,
my will, my ideas. If we can be used by God to say,
no, not my will, but thine be done, what an example to others. Verse 16, we should also be redeeming
the time because the days are evil, making the most of the
time, making the most of the opportunities that we're given,
seeking to use the times for the service of God, for the edification
of our soul. seeking to be pure with our time,
not wasting it, and not indulging our sinful lusts, redeeming the
time. We are also to be joining together.
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your heart before the Lord. I
believe here we have a picture of corporate worship. Mr Beer
coming together to sing unto the Lord. as to be this rejoicing
and this public witness. And you know it is a public witness
just walking through the building doors today. Most people aren't. And it's our privilege to show
that we set aside one day in seven as the Lord has commanded
us and we serve him and follow him and hear of him on this day.
You know that's a witness to Christians as well in this world.
As many don't seek to be a biblical example. And then also finally
he says, submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of
God. If you join that together with
the passage we just read in Hebrews, we should submit ourselves to
those who have the rule over us. Submit yourselves one to
another in the fear of God. See that in itself is a witness
as well. That I believe in the biblical
authority of the word and the biblical authority of the church
and of those whom he has set over me and to submit ourselves
is it also a witness but of course to submit ourselves also to God
to do his will and to honor him And so you see in that very quick
overview of Ephesians 5, we see how we are exhorted to be an
example, to follow after the Lord, so that ye were in samples
to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. And you see again
how all of this flows out of love, out of the influence of
the work of God. As he has shown mercy to us,
So we seek to honor Him. Oh, keep our eyes on Christ. Keep our eyes on what He has
done. Keep our eyes on His wonderful sacrifice and love to sinners.
It's that word that came in power, that gospel that came with much
assurance. Oh, follow Him. Follow Him. What need we have to prayer? What need we have to be kept?
What need we have to be strengthened? What need we have to pray with
the psalmist? Lead me, Lord. Lead me in thy righteousness.
Make thy way plain before my face. Uphold thou my goings,
that my footsteps slip not. Oh, may we know, all of us, the
power of the Gospel. May we know the power of the
Word coming to us. May we, therefore, be a follower
of the Lord, seeking his will and his blessing. And may we
be helped, as individuals and as churches, to be examples one
to another, and to point our fellow men and our fellow believers
unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.