One Valuable Body!
1 Thessalonians 2:17-20
1. Separation From God’s Church Should Bring Great Distress. (Vs. 17, Heb 10:25, 2 Tim 1:4, John 13:34-35)
a. Hebrews 12:25, “And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.”
b. 2 Timothy 1:4, “Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy.”
c. John 13:34-35, ““I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.””
2. Our Hearts Should Strongly Desire What Satan Opposes – Christian Fellowship. (Vs. 18, 2 Cor 12:7, Acts 16:6-7)
a. 2 Corinthians 12:7, “Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself.”
b. Acts 16:6-7, “They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia; they had been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. When they came to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.”
3. The Church Should be Our Joy at the Coming of the Lord. (Vs. 19-20, 1 Cor 1:31, Phil 2:14-16)
a. 1 Corinthians 1:31, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
b. Philippians 2:14-16, “Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, by holding firm to the word of life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run or labor for nothing.”