St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church – Watertown, WI
Pastor Mark Gartner
Sermon for Pentecost 23 – October 20^th and 23^rd, 2005

You know how we lived among you for your sake. ⁶You 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. ⁷And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. ⁸The 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, ⁹for 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, ¹⁰and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

Dear Followers of Jesus Christ,

When you were young, did you ever want to grow up and be like someone else – maybe a certain basketball player or football player or actor or singer? I think that most of us had these dreams of being able to dunk the basketball like Dr. J or Michael Jordan or to run the football like Walter Payton or to sing like Elvis Presley or the Beatles. Maybe you watched their every move on TV or went in person to see how they did things and then you practiced and practiced in the backyard or in your bedroom.

As we go through life, God reminds us that we can model our lives after someone – and that someone is the perfect Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. We can look at his life and see exactly how God wants us to lived and act. We can see what God expects and demands as we look to the life of Jesus. But this morning we are going to see that God has brought other Christians into our lives to serve as models and examples for us. They might be a parent or other family member. It might be a Pastor or a Teacher. It might be certain person at Church. This morning we want to take some time to think about these people and how God uses them in our lives. We use the theme:

Before we get too far, I want everyone to realize that the words we are speaking about this morning are things that we as Christians do to serve our Lord and Savior. I don’t want anyone to leave this morning and think that Pastor Gartner is telling us that we are to follow the examples of people on this earth so that we can earn favor with our God in heaven. Everything we are talking about this morning is what we would call Sanctification. It is the life that follows the sure and certain fact that we have been saved by God’s grace and love. With God’s free salvation firmly rooted in our hearts through faith, we now will seek to serve our God in our lives.

One of the ways that we can serve God is to imitate Jesus and his life. Paul says it this way, "You became imitators of us and of the Lord." Those who believe the word spoken by the Apostle become imitators of the Apostle and more importantly of the Lord! That’s no small thing. Nor is it described with a small phrase. "Imitators" stems from Greek word that is the root word for "mimic" or "mime." Christians are to affect one another and to lead one another in expressing that joyful hope which triumphs even over the worst of suffering — the hope we have in Christ.

"You became imitators," Paul says, "of the Lord". We stagger at the thought. Yet that is the truth. The Son of God has made us children of God. Our lives are to be a reflection of that gracious adoption. The Christians in Thessalonica were imitating the Lord in their experiences. Suffering came into their lives, as the persecution reported in Acts 17 demonstrates. St. Paul helps us evaluate the seriousness of the threat by the action reported in 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5. He sent Timothy to strengthen and encourage them. A second evidence of his concern is this letter itself. The Apostle did not underestimate the suffering which the young church at Thessalonica was experiencing.

But Christ was their strength. And the joy given by the Holy Spirit sustained them. They knew that Jesus was their Savior. They rejoiced in him as their Lord and their Shepherd. Not only were their sins forgiven; Jesus was also present and guiding their lives. If trouble comes, it too must serve their well-being.

Paul also reminds them that he and his other helpers lived among them and helped teach them the truths of God’s Word. "You know how we lived among you for your sake." Is St. Paul being immodest or boastful? Hardly! In all his writings the only boasting comes when he must defend the gospel he preached against the claims of false apostles. And then he says, "If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness" (2 Co 11:30).

But it is simply a fact that God did some amazing things when the Second Missionary Journey brought Paul to Thessalonica. The Apostle knows that, and so do the people there. To speak of his own example and of what God has done for and through him is simply a powerful way to marvel at the goodness of God. He says, "God be praised for what he did for us when we were together in Thessalonica!"

So then, what sort of life did the Apostle lead there? The provinces of the Roman Empire were no strangers to traveling personalities. A silver-tongued orator, an entertainer with a basic repertoire of magic tricks, an expounder of new truths of religion or philosophy or someone who combined several of the above could gather a following quickly. Then it was easy to enter the next town as "the triumphant personality your neighbors are all talking about"; then it could be "on to Rome" as "the sensation that all Macedonia is talking about." With pockets lined by offerings from his listeners the roaming conartist could settle down at the Imperial Court to enjoy the society of the world’s rich and powerful. But not the Apostle Paul.

He lived in Thessalonica "for your sake." He brought the gift of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to them. Read chapter two for a explanation on how he conducted himself. No burden was he to the Thessalonians. Rather, he brought them the Word of God, which lifted from them the burden of sin and guilt and condemnation.

By way of contrast we may think of the "personality cults" of our day. TV and radio have permitted Christendom in our day to have its own share of nationally — and internationally-known preachers. We should remember to apply the touchstone of 2:13 to them. Let the Christian take out his catechism and see if the personalities indeed bring their hearers the full Word of God. Sadly, the Third Article, the Sacraments and the Office of the Keys regularly seem to be overlooked.

But let pastors and people also realize the temptations in our own midst. Does our congregation like to be known as "Pastor Blank’s church"? Not to become a cult leader, not for personal gain of any kind, did the Apostle come to Thessalonica. Rather, he gave them an example of what Martin Luther described as a Christian man: "A perfectly free lord, subject to none, while at the same time a servant of all, subject to all." Nor is this role limited to apostles and reformers, for:

But we can also grow in our faith as we follow the examples of fellow believers, "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." A "model" is again a dramatic word for the effect Christians have on one another. So let a Christian live his life of faith and joy; he won’t be the only one; others, too, will be led by the Spirit to imitate that example.

Though they lived almost in the shadow of Mt. Olympus, the home of the Greek gods, the Christians of Thessalonica "turned" away from their idols. No longer did they worship the pantheon of Homer. Nor did they adopt the related gods of conquering Rome. They stopped all idol-worship in order to serve the only true and living God, the Triune God. What happened in Thessalonica caused the Lord’s message to "ring out." Like the resonant peal of a great bell or the rumbling reverberations of a powerful thunderclap, the lives the Christians lived in Thessalonica made their faith in God known near and far.

An example of what the Thessalonian example accomplished can be seen in the eighth chapter of Second Corinthians. Their generosity became a pattern for other Christians. Nor has the effect of their overflowing joy and rich generosity finished its course, for today we continue to use them as a model for our stewardship. Christians are to serve as models for one another. Certainly there are contemporary examples to cite — the faithful Christian in his regular pew, the courageous Christian smiling through his troubles, the generous Christian surprising us with his love. We ought to praise God for raising up people who fit those descriptions. It is important that we do more than just remember good Christian examples. We should follow them and help to set them for others.

In the end we realize that it is our individual faith that keeps us firm. It is that faith that trusts that God will be with us. But we praise the Lord for giving us such wonderful examples to help encourage us in our faith and to help us as we eagerly wait for the day the Lord returns to take us to heaven, "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead — Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." May we always be ready for this return as we thank the Lord for the many tools he uses to draw us closer to him and his saving Word.