You Are Standing Firm - 1st 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.

Are you a goal-oriented person?  Do you think about goals and want to achieve them?  When you were a student in school did you strive to be elected the student leader of your class or of your school?  When you play football, do you work very hard to win the match?  As a farmer are you highly motivated to achieve an excellent harvest?  Are you a goal oriented person?  I am.

As a church leader, I have a lot of goals in mind. I love to see people progressing. I love to see people learning and growing in Christ. So Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 3:8 are very interesting to me. After he had heard about the faith and love of the new Thessalonian Christians and how they had stood up to persecution, he said, “For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord.”

Why was Paul so happy that he Thessalonians were standing firm?  That doesn’t sound very exciting. There is not much progress with merely standing in one place.  What was Paul so excited about? 

To stand firm in the Lord is to resist temptation. To stand firm in the Lord is to know your identity in Christ. You know for sure that Jesus loves you, that Jesus died for you, and that Jesus has forgiven you.  To stand firm in the Lord is to resist temptation. To stand firm is to confidently trust the Lord, without wavering, when trials and persecution come.

Most people are not firm. They are flexible, even floppy. When trials come they bend with the wind. Not the Thessalonian Christians.  When persecution came, they stood firm in the Lord. For Paul, this was wonderful. It was so great, when he got the news of their firmness in Christ, he said “Now we really live!” 

So it’s fine to have goals for your people. It’s good to work as a church planter to see your church members progress in the faith. But a primary goal should be that your people stand firm in Christ.  

So how can you help your people stand firm? Teach and re-teach them to obey the seven basic commands of Christ. Each one produces firmness and steadfastness. 

• Repent and believe the Good News

• Baptize new believers

• Love God and neighbor

• Partake of the Lord’s Supper

• Pray and meditate on the Word of God daily

• Give

• Make disciples

My church planting friend, are you continuing to teach these seven basic commands of Christ to your people? Do you emphasize these seven basic commands? If you do, you are seeing some of your church members who are standing firm in Christ. Or have you forgotten about these important teachings of our Lord Jesus? If you have, you can begin to emphasize them again. As you teach these seven commands and help your people experience the power of the Holy Spirit to live them out, you will find that they will stand firm in the face of persecution and trials.

This has been “Multiply.” And I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #7BasicCommandsOfChrist