The Gospel Comes to Thessalonica: Reason and Response

Sure. You can't know everything. You're not God. That's kind of the whole point. But the continuity through millennia and consistency and persistence and accuracy tells you, you don't have to remove your brain to believe the gospel. You just have to believe you're not God. And with your brain fully intact, it's more than reasonable, and it does require a response. It just can't be ignored. You have to decide whether to surrender or resist. And if your gut is to resist, I think you should ask yourself why do I feel the resistance? [01:01:02] (40 seconds)  #SurrenderNotEgo

has it reformed your highest allegiance or is there something competing with it? Does God, his word, his spirit, the gospel inform all that you do or is it held in competition with other things? Because at the end of the day, there is another king. His name is Jesus. And he's not asking for a place in your life. He's asking for his rightful place over your life. And just like in Thessalonica, you don't have to or you don't get to stay neutral. You either surrender to him or you resist him, but we're responding in some way. The question is what's yours? What's your response? [01:02:24] (38 seconds)  #JesusOverAll

Here's the thing about the gospel is that it requires response. That's exactly what happened in Thessalonica. People responded. Some of them were persuaded, and then the Jews were jealous. Same reasonable message. Same preacher they were listening to. Same evidence presented to them. Two completely different responses. And this is what the gospel does. It does not allow neutrality. It drives response. There were two responses, and I believe those two responses represent the responses still to this day. [00:50:29] (42 seconds)  #GospelDemandsResponse

Some of you have heard the gospel a million times. You understand it, might even agree with parts of it. You likely respect it, but you've never actually surrendered to it. There's a difference between knowing about Jesus and surrendering to Jesus as Lord. Too many have a conscious understanding of the gospel, and they try to pick and choose what parts to assimilate into their lives to maybe just make them a better person or a better version of themselves where they remain in control. [00:53:22] (34 seconds)  #KnowVsSurrender

You know, in one sense, maybe these Jews were just being strategic in the influential free city thing like Thessalonica, accusing them of exalting another king. But in a more real sense, they were right. They were right. Because you can't worship Caesar if you have surrendered to the one true God. The king of kings and the lord of lords, you can respect and honor the leaders that God gives us. We're told to do that in scripture. But we answer ultimately to a higher power, the god of all heaven and earth who we are eternally accountable to. [00:58:28] (39 seconds)  #AccountableToGod

seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities shouting, these men who have turned the world upside down have come here also. And Jason has received them, And they're all acting against the decrees of Caesar. Remember the free city part? Saying that there is another king, Jesus. And the people in the city authorities and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. [00:57:56] (32 seconds)  #PersecutedForJesus

There there is not mythology here. It is rooted in history. Jesus really did live. He really did die on a cross under a known Roman governor, and his tomb really was actually empty empty. It's reasonable because of eyewitness testimony. Hundreds of people saw him physically, bodily alive after he was dead and buried, and they didn't recant it even when some of them were put to death for believing it. It's reasonable because the alternative explanations to this world and life and religion don't hold up. [00:44:50] (38 seconds)  #HistoricalResurrection

In other words, it's uncovering what God has already done. You're just probing the depths of his greatness. Right? It's reasonable because it works in real life. Changed lives, transformed people, not just from one family or one place, but across every culture and generation. I love what Lee Strobel said. He said, I didn't become a Christian because God promised I would have an e even happier life. I became a Christian because the evidence was overwhelming. [00:46:58] (35 seconds)  #EvidenceChangedLives