1 Thessalonians 2: 7-12 – All in the Family! – 4/5/20

Written by Dave Urbanski

Entering the Living Room of God

What do imagine the living room of God looks like? Or better yet, feels like? Could it be that it feels like the very best experiences we’ve ever had with friends and family over the years — times infinity? Every loving hug from your parents. Every birthday celebration. Every Christmas morning opening presents. All in the brightest technicolor you’ve ever seen — and your heart is full to overflowing, forever.

With that in mind, the passage we covered this past Sunday — 1 Thessalonians 2:7-12 — is full of family metaphors. We find the Apostle Paul relating to the church in Thessalonica like a dad and a brother — and even as a mother! His words have great implications and applications to our own lives and in the life of our church. Let’s take a look once again.

In verse 7, Paul tells the Thessalonians he treated them with gentleness, like a “nursing mother taking care of her own children.” This reflects a sense of warmth and the act of cherishing others — the same way Jesus cherishes us. Verse 8 talks about Paul’s affection for the Thessalonians — so great that he and his coworkers were ready to share with them “not only the gospel of God” but also their own lives since the fledgling church “had become very dear” to them. That kind of love is reflected an agape love that we at Calvary Chapel Living Hope should have for one another — which always sees the value in others.

In verse 9, Paul calls the Thessalonians “brothers” and reminds them how hard he worked on their behalf; not differently than a family member — especially parents — will go to any lengths for relatives. And in verse 10, Paul says his conduct was “holy and righteous and blameless” — which is what Christians should be able to count from each other on as we live life together.

Finally verses 11 and 12 show Paul saying, “like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.” We don’t come to church just to get something; we come together with a sense of mission as we serve, encourage, and care for each other.

Clearly, we believers in Jesus are connected to each other as a family — and it’s with this family that we all enter the living room of God. And while we have connections to each other individually as well as in earthly family units, all of us also are connected to God — who provides our ultimate example of love.

As we concluded Sunday’s service, we looked at seven attributes of God that reminded us not only of who he is but also about what he gives to us:

1. God is loving. When it comes to entering God’s living room, often we want to move on — but believe it or not, God wants us to move in. God is inviting us in because he loves us!
2. God is gentle. Gentleness is not a synonym for weakness; rather God uses gentleness as a strength in our lives.
3. God is righteous. Perhaps you’re thinking right now that you are unworthy to enter God’s living room because you don’t measure up to God’s righteousness. Well, it’s true. None of us measures up; but it’s not true that you’re unworthy — only because of Christ’s righteousness can we enter God’s living room with boldness and confidence. And now that we trust in Jesus, and he lives in our hearts, God no longer looks at our sin. All he sees is Jesus’ perfect life and sacrifice.
4. God works hard. In our day-to-day lives we tend to focus on the work we’re doing — but God is looking at the work he’s doing in us.
5. God encourages us. We’re the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is our comforter and encourager — and who is with us always.
6. God comforts us. In the Gospels, Jesus once said, “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Do you believe that God does nothing but demand things of us? Well, it’s not true. More than anything God just wants to be with us — and for us to spend time with him. And that can be done by coming before God’s presence with the simple expectation that he will give us rest and comfort — and that we can experience that with him.
7. God points the way. The Bible says the only way into this amazing living room of God is through Jesus Christ. And if you haven’t let Jesus be that entryway yet, you can ask him to be your Lord and Savior right now.

Amid the heightened challenges we’ve been facing, amid the social distancing that’s made it impossible for us to be in the same room as a church, all of us nevertheless can still look to God and come into his living room together. We don’t need a physical building for that, and we don’t need to be in the same physical space, either. Let us instead thank the Lord for the challenge he’s placed before us in this strange but exciting time, let God lead us to connect with each other in every way we can, and encourage each other with words from 1 Thessalonians 2:8: “Being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”

See the sermon video here: