HOLY SPIRIT RADICAL ~ 1 Thessalonians 1.4-10

Good Morning,

"For we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia---your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." 1 Thessalonians 1.4-10

Was Paul a behavioral psychologist at heart? Maybe. . . He certainly knew the power of affirming words, didn’t he? Listen to what he said to the Thessalonians:
*I saw the Holy Spirit’s impact on you, and in you -
*Because of your strength in the Lord, especially in the face of suffering. . . you were a model to all of Greece (Macedonia and Achaia).
*Word of your radical life change, from idol worshipers to God followers, has gone throughout the area.

The year was 49 A.D. when Paul first went to Thessalonica--about 20 years after the Holy Spirit had first come upon the believers in Jerusalem during the Feast of Pentecost, (recorded in Acts chapter 2, not long after Jesus had ascended into Heaven). Before that, the Holy Spirit only ‘came upon’ men to equip them for certain tasks, but from then on, He would take up residence within them. Paul told the people he could see how the Holy Spirit had changed them and empowered them. He knew that his teaching about Jesus the Messiah, and the proofs of his life, were only part of the equation in the salvation of these new believers . . . indeed, the Holy Spirit had quickened their hearts to the truth they were hearing. It is the mysterious wooing of the Holy Spirit that readies hearts to receive the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ.

Tragically, teaching on the Holy Spirit—who He is, how He acts, and what He does—can be spurious. Even if you grew up in church like I did, depending on your denomination, you may have had little or no teaching on this third Person of the Trinity. I know that I had little knowledge of the Holy Spirit, growing up in the Baptist church; however, when I started playing the organ in the Pentecostal church in my teenage years, I learned more. Thirty-five years later, I know more, but I still feel like I am only skimming the surface of knowing and experiencing Him. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is set forth as the third divine person, linked with, yet distinct from the Father and the Son, just as the Father and the Son are distinct from each other. He is by turns Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Supporter, Adviser, Advocate, Ally, Senior Friend… He is said to “hear, speak, witness, convince, glorify Christ, lead, guide, teach, command, forbid, desire, give speech, give help, and intercede for Christians with inarticulate groans, himself crying out to God in their prayers…He, like the Father and Son, is an individual person.”* No wonder the Holy Spirit’s activity in and around these Thessalonians was obvious to Paul!

The Thessalonians’ ability to persevere, to stand firm in the face of persecution was noted by all who came in contact with them. Did you know that 200 million Christians are facing severe persecution in our world today? As Pastor Paul in India reads this, he says, ‘Of course, Christine!’ Dear Rebecca in Kenya, who receives our Morning Briefings, would say, ‘Yes, my Sister, I believe that,’ and Brother Onesmus in Uganda, whose church was just burned to the ground, nods his head. . . as members of St. George’s Church in Baghdad, Iraq, where 13 members of the church leadership were recently murdered, and a concrete wall was just erected to keep people from getting into church . .say, ‘Yes, this we understand!’ Yet when folks endure with the hope of the Lord burning in their hearts, people notice. . . they want that reason to live, that reason to fight, too. So, the Thessalonians’ steadfastness had impacted the neighboring regions, which today make up all of Greece.

Many of the young believers had traded pagan lives or beliefs in many gods to be singularly devoted to Jesus Christ. The change was noticeable. Radical change for the better often can only be accounted for by a touch of the Divine. The Holy Spirit can radically alter the course of one’s life, sometimes stopping it in its tracks, and turning it around the other way. . . Again, when that happens, people notice.

Thank you, Holy Spirit, come and radicalize us!
Amen.
Christine

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*J. I. Packer, Keep in Step with the Spirit