You Became A Model - 1 Thessalonians Series

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

As church planters, we get a lot of inspiration from the Apostle Paul. He was a church planter who faced challenges just like we face. He was used by God in great ways to start churches in places that had never before had churches. Paul exercised great faith to overcome significant opposition. Paul was so successful at church planting, it’s hard for us to remember that he, like us, had to learn how to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. He, like us, had to learn how to communicate the Good News. He had to learn how to make disciples. It took time.

So it’s wonderful to read the book of 1 Thessalonians in the New Testament. This book tells us the results of one of Paul’s earliest church planting efforts as the leader of a church planting team. When he wrote to the Thessalonian believers he told them how glad he was that they were following his example and the example of Christ. He told them how proud he was that they faced persecution with joy given by the Holy Spirit. And he was especially glad that the Thessalonian believers had followed Christ so well that they “became a model to believers” all over two provinces of Greece.

This is what we dream of as church planters. We want those who hear our words and see our lives to trust Christ and experience the joy of the Holy Spirit.  But we are not looking and hoping just for changed belief. We are hoping and praying for changed behavior. And that is just what Paul saw among the Thessalonians.  Paul imitated Christ and the Thessalonians imitated Paul in his faith and obedience to the Lord. Then others in Greece saw the model life of the Thessalonians and their lives were changed as well.

Some people who listen to this podcast are old men and women who have seen this pattern repeated many times throughout their ministry. Some people who listen to Multiply are just starting out as church planters. If you are just starting out in ministry as a church planter, I have a word of encouragement for you. Your disciples will follow your example. As you follow the example of Jesus, and they follow you, they will become models for still other people. This is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. He wants you to follow Jesus well. He wants your life to serve as an example. He will help your disciples have the faith to follow your example and become a model for others.

Paul discovered this pattern early in his ministry as he ministered to the Thessalonians. He saw how they responded by following his example. At the end of his life, he recommended this pattern to his disciple Timothy when he said in 2 Timothy 2:2, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”

For a church planter, there is no greater joy than to know that we have been a faithful example of the life of Christ and that multiple generations of believers are following Christ because we modeled the way for them. This is your calling; this is your destiny.

Thanks for listening to “Multiply.”  I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today? 1T-10

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #2Timothy2:2 #ModelTheWay