God's Energy

Introduction

Our lives revolve around energy. We flip a switch and lights come on. We pick up our phones expecting them to work because they have been charged. We work on computers, we drive our cars, we engage much of life through a grid of energy. Watched a little child recently? Energy. There is a battery company that makes its sales based upon claims to last longer and to be more of what we expect from batteries. We need energy to live and function. Energy by definition is how we measure the ability to do work. We measure energy in various ways. To heat our homes we measure BTUs. To drive our cars we measure energy through horsepower. To measure electricity we measure energy in kilowatts. To measure energy from food we use the word calorie. Different situations; different vocabulary, but all measuring energy which will lead to work.

What gives you energy? Some need lots of sleep and others do not. Some need a nap during the day; others would like to get it but don’t have that luxury. Some get their energy from being with people; others get their energy when they are left alone to think. Some get energy through taking risks; others get energy through reading a good book. Some are energized by music; others are energized by quiet contemplation. We are all different about where we get our energy. We all have different ways to reenergize. But when our energy is good then we can accomplish something. The energy moves us toward action.

What happens when you are drained of energy? We sleep. We rest. We stop. The battery quits functioning. How important is energy? Just ask anyone who has no power in the house for an extended period of time. We expend energy throughout the day and we must rest to restore energy. Where does the new energy come from? We talked last week about Paul’s energy to keep going in the face of opposition. Our text this morning has something to say about energy — where it comes from and what it produces. As we study together this morning let’s be reminded that God provides our energy and we have life because of him.

The Text and History

Thessalonica was a large Roman city with a population that some estimate may have been as much as 100,000 people. It was a port city located on a major highway leading east to west. It has been documented that no less than 25 different gods were worshiped in the city. There was also a temple dedicated to the Roman Emperor Augustus. It was a city of great wealth and commerce. Part of what makes Thessalonica unique was its political status in Rome. Rome divided provinces into two categories — senatorial or imperial. Thessalonica was part of the province of Macedonia. Senatorial designation meant that the province had favored status with Rome. It meant that the province was seen as loyal to Rome. So there was minimal Roman involvement. From 27 B.C. to 15 A.D. Thessalonica enjoyed the senatorial designation.

But in 15 A.D. Tiberius changed the designation from senatorial to imperial. This meant that province no longer was a trusted ally of Rome. The military showed up. A governor was appointed whose responsibility included keeping the peace at all costs. This new designation made life more difficult for the province and for its chief city Thessalonica since this was the city where the governor resided. In 44 A.D. Claudius, a new emperor, changed the designation back to senatorial. Paul arrives in Thessalonica somewhere around 50 A.D. The residents of the city were only returning to favored status. The last thing they needed was a troublemaker.

According to Acts 17:1-9, the charges brought against Paul and Jason is the charge of espousing that there is another kingdom than Rome that needs to be followed. It is not the charge of treason, but it is close. Paul was the troublemaker and the opposition forced him out of the city. In our text, Paul reminds the Thessalonians about his time with them. He left before he was ready but he reminds them of the value of his short time with them. They are encouraged to continue to walk in the ways of the gospel. One of Paul’s concerns is that the immature believers would return to pagan ways. It was in the places of pagan worship that people went to conduct business. This is where one made contact with those who could buy your goods or provide the name of someone who could help with commerce.

When they became believers they stopped going to temple. They lost contact with business associates. As Acts 17 points out, they were marked as those who believed in a new king and a new kingdom. This would have caused hardship and direct persecution. And yet they remained faithful. They continued to demonstrate their faith even to the point that others in surrounding areas are impressed with their faith.

Verse 13. They heard the word of God but did not treat it as a human word. Instead they received it as the word of God. Paul and Silas spoke in Thessalonica. They were human beings. But these believers understood that the words were not of human origin. They were words that demonstrated that there is one true God and they didn’t just hear the words but received them in their heart. They heard the word as authoritative meaning that they submitted to the word and acted upon what they had received.

The result. Verse 14. They became imitators of God’s church in Judea. In what way? By suffering for their faith. Their faith was real. And their faith was questioned. And those previous business associates and worship friends abused them; ostracized them; cut them off. And they lost business and they lost status in the community and they worked harder with less results and they remained strong in their faith.

Why is the comparison made with Judean churches rather than Gentile churches? A little history. Following the initial success of the gospel in Jerusalem, Samaria, and Galilee, a persecution broke out. Christians were scattered. But that persecution was relatively short lived. At the time that Paul wrote this letter, there was another persecution happening in ancient Palestine. It was a Jewish Zealot persecution against Gentiles in Palestine. And it included anyone who was connected to Gentiles. In other words, Paul’s comparison is connected to what is currently happening in the Judean area in which Gentiles and those who supported them are being run out of Palestine. For those who choose to remain in Palestine, life is made very difficult. So Paul endorses their faith which allows them to remain in an area with suffering their companion.

Lesson

One lesson found in verse 13. The word of God. We hear it. Do we hear it as being authoritative or as one more message in a world with hundreds of messages? Paul uses an interesting word in verse 13 — the word of God which is indeed at work in you. It’s the word “work” that is interesting. It is the word from which we get our word “energy.” The word of God produces energy. The word of God energizes us. But the word of God only produces energy if we internalize it. The energy comes only if we hear it as it is intended to be heard — God’s word.

Paul uses this same word in several places.

1 Cor. 12:6 — There are different kinds of activities, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

Galatians 2:8 — For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles.

Ephesians 3:20 — Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us

Philippians 2:13 — for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

The word of God produces energy to operate in this world.

It provides energy when we are tempted.

It provides energy when we sin and we seek forgiveness.

It provides energy when we are ridiculed.

It provides energy when we can take a stand for Jesus even if it costs us.

It provides energy to follow when it would be easier to detour.

It provides energy when we are impatient and want things to change.

God’s promises found in scripture remind us that he is at work.

When we are alone we trust God’s word that he never leaves us.

When we are tired we trust God’s word that he takes our burden.

When we are insecure we trust God’s word that he wants us confident that we belong to him.

When we are looking for a better place, we trust God’s word that the day is coming when we will be with him.

We keep treating people well, because we trust God’s word that through our mercy people will see God.

It is from God’s word that we have life. This is God speaking to us. This is the voice of God.

This is not something to be analyzed but internalized. How else do you explain a group of people who lose business, status, position, and honor except that they believe God’s word is true and real? God’s word changed their lives not so that things were easier but to living a life that had meaning, purpose, joy, real love, faith and a future. And the cost of that life was worth the price that could be doled out by human beings. All because God’s word isn’t human; it comes from God who loves you beyond your own wisdom and knowledge. Invitation.

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