The second verse says: 'if I had a bell to ring, I'd ring it in the morning, I'd ring it in the evening, all over the land. I'd ring out danger, I'd ring our warning, I'd ring out love between the brothers and the sisters, o-o-oo all over this land.
One of the clear memories I have of earlier church experiences are bells ringing. Every summer, my family would go back to my parents home in south dakota. Every hour, quarter hour and half hour, church bells all over town would ring out the time. Some would even play hymns on the hour.
It was a clear signal of the churches presence and importance in the community.
It is amazing how clearly a carillon or a bell rings out. No doubt that is why town criers would use a bell to get peoples attention for the news they were carrying.
Pauls says of the thessalonians that the Lord 's message rang out like a bell throughout macedonia and achaia - and for that matter, everywhere.
It is interesting how news travels. Even without the use of mass media and information superhighways news of God 's work spreads rapidly. Last week at synod meeting in phoenix, the native american associate for ministry in the synod talked about how word of decisions at presbytery spread across the sparsely populated regions of the great native american reservations so that even before church the next day, those decisions were known to the people. It is as if a bell had sounded to announce some great news.
The quality of a persons life rings out like a bell to announce to the world that which is important in his or her life.
The result was a group of young Christ ians who had not yet time to become grounded in the faith. Of particular interest to them was the subject of the return of Christ and the parousia or appearance. So eager were some that they quit their jobs and literally waited looking heavenward to see the Lord 's return. Others were disappointed that loved ones who had recently died were not going to be around to be part of the action. Their immaturity resulted in church divisions, idle laziness and a poor witness
So paul writes to encourage rather than to rebuke. He doesn't want to break their spirit. Thus, the passage we are looking at today is a typical greeting or salutation from paul and even more. His method of encouragement is to praise them for all the good things that hey are doing. It is positive reinforcement.
In that context then we see that his greeting praises them for three important characteristics of spiritual life.
If nothing else could be said about the thessalonians, it was that they were in God and God was in them. These Christ ians were on fire. No doubt others considered them to be alittle wacky . After all, they were talking about nothing else than this so called rapture.
But even if others considered them to be fanatics, they understood the reality of faith in Christ and they were excited. And the truth was that the thing which described them best was that they were completely immersed in their faith.
They were in God and they were in Christ . In Christ alone they lived and moved and had their being. When other people looked at them, there was no mistaking what was important to them for Christ surrounded everything they did.
You and I live in this world because we are surrounded by air and that air is in us. We live our Christ ian life because we are in God and in Christ and God is in us. We would die if that air or o2 which surronds and permeates our being were to be removed from us. In the same way, we would die spiritully if Christ were not in and around us.
The gospel rang out like a bell from them because they weresurrounded and filled with Christ . That was the most evident thing about their lives.
If these three concepts sound familiar, you are perceptive for these are three important and necessary by products of God s spirit dwelling within. Rmember 1 corinthians 13. Paul says now these three things abide. Faith, hope and love and the greatest of these is love.
What is the work of faith? Paul says in ephesians 2:8-10 that salvation is by faith through grace not of works. We know that by good works we cannot earn our salvation.
On the other hand, james says that faith without works is dead. In other words, genuine faith will produce good works.
But I think what paul is driving at here is this. They were trying to work their faith out in their lives. In phillipians 2:13 paul says that we are to work out our faith with fear and trembling. That is we are to try with God s help to walk our talk; to practice what it is we say we believe.
Ittakes faith to live as a Christ ian in a sometimes hostile world. It also takes some hard work and difficult choices...choices that say we are going to stand apart from the crowd and follow Christ .
Even if the thessaloonians were immature in some of their decisions, the way they lived their lives took faith and at times was work.
What is it that motivates you to labor? The whip? Probably not. Money? Probably! Duty? Yes! Love? Abosolutely!
You want to take care of your family because you love them and so you go to work. You do something for a nother person because you love them.
You serve God becaue you live them. "true consecration is when a person can find true glory even in drudegery.
Brother lawrence was a man with a keen mind and tremendous potential but he found contentment in doin g the mose menial labor in the monestary because of his love for God .
If you have strong enough hope yu can endure anything.
Alexander the great who had conquered the world and brought east and west together here in thessalonica. Gave away all his worldly possessions before going on a great conquering crusade. Someone asked him why he had done this and didn;t he want to keep anything for himself. He said " I have kept hope!"
What a person hopes in will have a great deal to say in how strong they will be. If a persons hope is in something shallow, they will not endure when that shallow pool dries up. Money, raiches, fame, power, beauty, earthly pleasure, are all shallow pools and if that is where your hope is then it will not carry you through tough times.
However if your hope is in the inexhaustible riches of an eternal God who gave his own son, hope will endure.
The meaning of this phrase is that the thessalonian Christ ians accepted the gospel completely.
We have all known people who have accepted something in word only.
Judy's father could recite sermon points verbatum. He had received them in word. A message received this way is passed along only in word as well. The person who receives the gospel in this way may be able to cite bible verses, discuss theological truths, quote great thinkers and speakers. But they are nothing more than parrots. Copying what someone else has said without having really experienced it or put it into practice.
But these Christ ians received it in word and in power and in spirit and with conviction. The spirit of God burned it into their hearts with such heat that it could not be removed. Their mistakes as Christ ians was not that they were apathetic or that they had not taken the gospel to heart. Their error was that in their enthusiasm and passion for the gospel, their reaction was an overreaction.
But do you want to know something? If I am going to be judged for how I responded to the gospel, I would rather err on the side of receiving it completely and enthusiastically rather than in word only.
How gratifying it must have been even to paul to hear the reports about those excited, and exciting Christ ians in Thessalonica.
How would you like to be known. Would you like for the message of the gospel to ring out from your life like a bell? Do yu suppose that the faith of our church family is reported around the region and even into other parts of the world?
If not, it is probably because we are not completely enveloped in God and God in us; we are not working out our faith, laboring in love and neduring in hope, or that we have received the gospel only in word.
Cameron townsend the founder of wycliffe bible translators once said that many people quench the spirit by being down in the mouth rather than rejoicing, by planning rather than praying, by murmuring rahter than giving thanks and by worrying rather than trusting in the one who is faithful.
You see the values, the faith and quality of life you live will ring out like a bell for others to hear. Will it ring out the glorious good news of the gospel?