I almost attended church at St. Mattress today. The whole lot of us overslept, even the shih’tzus.

I’m glad I made it to church because it was a glorious service from start to finish.

An extremely tall new brother-in-Christ was baptized by our not-so-tall Celebrate Recovery pastor, Ken. We held our breath during the dunking, but it turned out fine. What a blessing to see a grown man follow Christ’s example of baptism. I pray this brother named Smith will grow strong in Christ and impact the world around him. (I’m sure he’d be alright with you whispering a prayer for him right now, too.)

The worship time was sweet and strong. I love being able to stand on the platform as a lead worshipper where I can see my church family loving on the Lord. They truly are my worship leaders…from our resident Hawaiian greeter Evo to little Natalie, our youth minister’s daughter. Corporate worship is a beautiful thing.

Pastor Gary’s sermon was a toe stomper today. The Holy Spirit used his words to stomp on my spiritual toes. Best kind of sermons, if you ask me.

He took us back to 1 Thessalonians 1:6-10:

You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.

We are both mimics and models. All of us.

No matter how we’d like to deny it, we pick up habits, mannerisms, and attitudes from the people around us all the time. The people with whom we spend the most time are especially influential. It can be as trivial as picking up your friend’s favorite buzz word, or it can be more serious, such as your child picking up the way you yell at annoying drivers. (Yeah…that one got me, too.)

Not only do we mimic, or imitate others, we are a model for everyone we meet.

In an interview, basketball great Charles Barkley proudly declared that he was not a role model. Repeatedly, he stated that he wasn’t looking for anyone to look up to him or follow in his footsteps.

Unfortunately, ol’ Chuck has no choice in the matter. We are all role models to those around us…it’s up to us whether we will be positive models or poor ones.

You also became imitators of us and of the Lord having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers (v6)

It’s interesting that Paul phrased this statement the way he did. One would think that the Lord would be listed first. Think about it this way. Most people come to know Christ through the godly influence of a human being. They see a difference, and the Holy Spirit uses that spark of interest to woo them to Christ.

Ready for a hard question?

Are you up to the task of being worthy of imitation at all times? (Gulp)

In our own strength, the answer would be a big, fat NO, but when our lives are yielded to the Spirit of God, the answer will be a resounding YES.

The Thessalonians modeled their faith after Paul, and they were modeling their faith to others. Despite intense persecution and suffering, Paul and the Thessalonians had contagious joy.

Joy. A sense of calm and cheerfulness even in during the fire storms of life.

Joy can’t be manufactured by man. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit that is only manifested in Believers who are fully yielded to Him.

I saw an example of joy just yesterday. My friend, Carolyn Brumley, lost her husband less than two months ago after a battle with cancer. Over lunch yesterday, I asked her how she was doing.

Lee, I’m doing really well. I can’t help but do well because God is so good. Sometimes, the loneliness is really hard. I miss Randall so much. Everyday, I discover something else he did around this place to make my life easier and better. It’s hard trying to do things on my own. But my heart is good because my God is good. 

She wasn’t just feeding me a pile of platitudes she thought I wanted to hear, friends. I’ve known this dear woman most of my life, and that joy has been constant. It’s the first adjective that comes to mind when I think of her: joyful.

Every Believer should be that way. Of all the people in the universe, we are the most blessed! We have the King of Kings and Lord of Lords living inside us! We have the power that raised Christ from the dead coursing through our souls!

So why are some Christians joyful and some not? Why does my joy waft and wane like the ocean tide?

Bottom line is this: Our sin quenches and resists the Holy Spirit’s movement in us. He’s not going to force joy on us. If we want to be miserable, He will surely let us. When we are full of ourselves, there’s no room for the Spirit to move. In order for the Spirit to be able to move freely in us, leaving joy in His wake, we must allow Him to empty us of ourselves…our pride, our false motives, our hidden sins and our blatant ones.

It’s hard to say no to self. It’s not going to be a one time thing. It’s a daily, moment-by-moment decision to turn from our sin and refuse to turn back. That’s true repentance.

…you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God (v9)

Close your eyes and think about that sin that constantly trips you up. Come on…we all have ‘em. Ok, now see yourself turning around to find Jesus standing there with his hand outstretched. Come with me, dear one. I’ll show You something so much better. You take His hand. Feel the warmth of His strong grip. See the glowing approval in His eyes. Feel the comfort of walking hand-in-hand, arms swinging, away from the darkness of sin and toward the light of joy!

Paul turned from being a terrorist of Christians to being a missionary ready to die for Christ.

The Thessalonians turned from a pagan religion to worshipping the One True God.

No matter how hard things got, they never turned back to their old ways. I think of the Israelites out in the wilderness. Moses went up on the mountain to meet with God and stayed gone longer than they wanted. By the time he returned, they had gone back to the ways of the Egyptians, worshipping idols and wishing for their bondage once again.

What will you do when the fire storms of life start to singe your lifestyle? Will you turn and run back to the false security of “comfort sins” or will you hold on tight to the hand of Jesus and keep walking in His direction with joy?

 …to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.

 The life of a Christian should be all about serving Him.
 
A servant is one who gives himself over to the will of another with no rights of his own.