Part 4 | Affection in Affliction
From 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13
Five Positives of Persecution:
1. It reminds us that we are connected to a of .
📖 Hebrews 11:35-38 ESV Women received back there dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated.
2. It makes us more .
📖 John 15:18 ESV “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.”
3. It produces spiritual .
📖 Romans 5:3-5 ESV Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us
4. It provides from .
📖 Matthew 5:10-11 ESV “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”
5. It promotes Church .
📖 Philippians 1:12 ESV I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.
How we respond to persecution:
The power of through persecution and .
Our response to should be . Be bold in but respond with .
The Benefits of a Loving Church:
1. A Loving Church .
📖 Acts 17:30 ESV The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
2. A Loving Church .
📖 Mark 16:15 ESV “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”
3. A Loving Church .
📖 Galatians 6:1-2 ESV Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly, should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens…
4. A Loving Church .
📖 2 Timothy 2:2 ESV and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
Every Church has Three Stages:
Stage 1
When you come to Church, it is a and you are a .
“The church is not a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners.”
― Morton Kelsey
📖 Mark 2:17 NLT “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Stage 2
Next the Church becomes a and you are a of the .
📖 Ephesians 2:19 NLT So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.
Stage 3
Finally, the Church is no longer a building but that share the and pour into .
📖 Colossians 1:28 ESV Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
Sermon in a Sentence:
When faced with , seek God in and show your enemies and found only in Jesus Christ.
