Bible Study Series: The Most Important Election, 1 Thessalonians 1:4

 THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION

1 Thessalonians 1:4

 

4 Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.

5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.

6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:

RECAP

    Your election came in Word

    Your election came in power                   TO HEAVEN

    Your election came in the Holy Spirit

    Your election came with security

     

 

Definition of Election

To pick out for oneself

The balancing on an account

Choice, Excellent

According to the Dictionary of the New Testament by Martin and Davis

God Elects people to salvation. 

 

He chose you for HEAVEN

 

Many people want to know their election before they look to Christ, but they cannot learn it on their own. It is only  discovered by "looking unto Jesus."

If you desire to research your election, do it in the following manner.

    1. Test your heart before God. Do you feel yourself to be a lost, guilty sinner?

    2.  Go straight to the cross of Christ, and tell Jesus you have read in the Bible, "Him that cometh unto   

          me, I will in no wise cast out." Tell Him that He has said, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all    

     acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners."

3. Believe the Words of Jesus, and discover the  proof of your election, be assured that

    You are God’s elect.

a.       Give yourself wholly to Christ and trust Him, then you are one of God's chosen ones.

b.       Don’t stop and say, "I want to know first whether I am elect.

c.       Go to Jesus, as guilty as you are.  Go straight to Christ and hide in His wounds, and you shall know  

your election.

d.       The assurance of the Holy Spirit shall be given to you so that you shall be able to say, "I know who I believe, and I am persuaded that he can keep that which I have committed to Him

e.        Christ, the everlasting council is the only one who can tell you whether you were chosen or not. You cannot find it out on your own.  You must trust in Him.

f.        His answer will b, "I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness   

have I drawn you."

      g. There will be no doubt about His having chosen you, when you have chosen Him.

 

(from Spurgeon's Morning & Evening, Biblesoft formatted electronic database Copyright © 2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

 

WHAT WAS THE PROCESS OF GOD’S ELECTION?

1.  It is unmerited     Ephesians 1:4  

            You were Predestined before the foundation of the earth.

            At that time, Man had not been created, in fact, the earth had not been created when you were

             Elected.            1 Corinthians 1:29

2.  You were a collection in God’s spirit. Yet God knew you individually.

Ecclesiastes 12:7-8

 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,

and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

 

3.  Your Election was planned by God           Matthew 20:14,  Romans 9:14

           God knew you would sin and need a Savior.

          He planned to forgive you

          He planned to tolerate your sins

          He planned to bless you with grace

          He planned to be merciful to you

          He planned to protect you

4.  God planned your life           Jeremiah 29:11

          He planned your gifts

          He planned your circumstances

          He planned your good works

           He planned your trials

           He planned your successes

5.  God planned your fall        2 Timothy 1:9

           He planned your salvation

           He planned your conversion

            It is the grace of God to plan you out of the world

 

THE QUALITIES OF SALVATION

1.    God favored you with the blessing of a relationship    

 with Him     Romans 5:1-3

2.  Your Election is intentional

            He chose you specifically

            Matthew 4:19-20

            "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."

 

3.    Your election predates sin

             Since you were chosen before the foundation of the earth, you were chosen

              Before Adam and Eve sinned.     Romans 5:12

4.  Your election is special

           1 Corinthians 12:23-25

            And the unpresentable parts are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable      

            parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given     

               greater honor to the parts that lacked it.

 

5.  Your election is directional

             James 2:25-26

            25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did         

             when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body   

              without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

 

6.  Your election is selective

            Before the foundation of the world, God chose you but not everybody

           Romans 9:6-9

7.  Your election is eternal

          John 3:36

          Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,

 

8.  Your election is divine

            Romans 9:4-5

           Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the     

            Temple worship and the promises.

9.  Your election is blessed

            Matthew 25:34-35

            "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your     

             inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

 

10.  Your election is by the Sovereignty of God

                John 6:44

               "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,

 

11.  Your election is purposeful

                2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

               11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his         

                calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act

                prompted by your faith.

 

12.   Your election is a merciful act of God

                Romans 9:18

                 Therefore, God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants    

                 To harden.

 

 

13.  Your election is the joy of the Lord

                John 16:24

                Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy

                 will be complete.

 

14.    Your election is permanent

                 John 8:34-36

                 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no   

                a permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.

 

 

WHAT IS OUR EXPECTED RESPONSE TO OUR ELECTION?

 

 

 

CELEBRATE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ACT LIKE THE KING’S CHILD

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRAISE AND WORSHIP

Prayerful

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gratefulness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SERVICE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROCLAIMMING THE WORD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LOVE

 

 

This Weeks Sunday School Lesson, "The Power Of Faith" Luke 7:1-10, 7/31/2022

 THE POWER OF FAITH

Luke 7:1-10

 

JESUS IS NEVER TO BUSY FOR YOU

V:1.  When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant.

A.    The Lord is always busy working for us.

1.     In Chapter 6, He taught unbelieving Pharisees.

2.     He spent the night on the mountain in prayer

3.     The next day he called His disciples and taught them along

With people from cities around the country.

4.     He healed all who came to HIM.

B.     Jesus makes Himself available to you.

1.     He knows your needs and will come to you waiting on your

Prayers.

2.     Before you ask, He is available to help.

3.     Jesus made Himself available to a Roman solider, a commander of

100 Roman soldiers by coming to Capernaum.

4.     God is no respecter of persons. He is available to the poor, the rich,

Jews and Gentiles.

 

C.     Notice the Centurion was not a selfish man. His request to Jesus was for

The healing of his trusted servant.

1.     He had a relationship with God through the elders of the Jews.

2.     He was a man who listened to the people around him.

3.     He heard about the work of Jesus and the God He served.

4.      He heard about the healing powers of Jesus and believed

In Him.

5.     The Romans worshipped the idol gods of Jupiter, Juno and

Mineria.

6.     The Roman Centurion evidently had no faith in idol gods.

    Because he called on Jesus.

7.     He believed Jesus had power over death.

8.     We should never hesitate to call on Jesus in our time

Of need.

9.     We should take a note from this Gentile Solider, called on Jesus

First.

10. It does not make any difference what others believe,

It is what you believe that counts.

11. While this solider was not a Jew, he called on Jewish

Believers to intercede for him with their prayers.

12. Where two or more are gathered in Jesus’ name, He

Said He would show up.

13.The Centurion heard the Word, believed the Word and

Acted upon.

 

THE POWER OF INTERCESSARY PRAYER

V:4. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, "This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." 6 So Jesus went with them.

A.    What goes around comes around.

1.     What you measure out will be measured to you.

2.     This Roman Centurion had been generous to the Jews.

3.     He went beyond what he was required to do.

4.     He was a servant to the God of the Jews.

5.     He didn’t have to do it, but he built a place of worship

For his Jewish subjects.

6.     Even though the Romans were an enemy of the Jewish nation,

This Roman Centurion showed himself to be a friend of

God with his service.

B.     When you honor God with your service, God will honor you

            In your time of need.

1.     The best recommendation you can get is the testimony of

those who you serve.

2.     When you serve others, you store up treasures in heaven.

3.     Based on your needs, sometimes Jesus comes immediately

When you call.

4.     Jesus will always be on time.

 

THE POWER OF FAITH

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.

A.    The centurion humbled Himself before the Lord.

1.     The Lord loves a humble spirit,

2.     The centurion was a man of power and authority. Humbled himself

Before Jesus the man with all power and all authority.

3.     The centurion had a high position, but he considered himself

Low before Jesus.

4.     Unlike the Jewish leaders, the centurion considered Jesus as Lord.

5.     In the presence of his servants, the centurion honored Jesus by

Calling Him Lord.

6.     The Greek word for Lord in this verse is Kurios which means

Supreme authority.

7.     For a solider to consider Jesus above his own earthly king is

unusual.

B.     He considered himself unworthy of being in the presence of Jesus.

1.     He considered his house unfit for Jesus to step into it.

2.     You and I are unworthy of the presence of Jesus, but

God’s grace cleaned us of all unrighteous with the blood

Of Jesus.

3.     We can boldly go before the Lord with our prayers.

 

 

 

ACTING ON YOUR FAITH BRINGS BLESSINGS

V: 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

A.    When we understand who we are, we should humble ourselves

Before the Lord.

1.     We need to understand that it does not matter how much

Power we think we have, or how big our position or

How much money we have, it is nothing before the Lord.

2.     Everything we have, God gave it to us.

3.     God gives us what we have so we can bless others.

4.     The attitude of the centurion was one of extreme humbleness.

B.     The centurion made a comparison of his little position to God’s

ALL powerful position.

1.     The centurion considered what he had the power to do, was small

In comparison to what Jesus could do.

2.     The centurion considered the omnipresence of the Lord.

3.     Jesus does not have to set foot in your house to bless your house.

4.     There is power in the Word of Jesus.

5.     You can speak healing in someone's life through the Word of Jesus.

C.     I can only imagine that as the centurion considered what he

Heard about Jesus, and his faith grew.

1.     It may be that God puts trouble in our lives to make us

Consider His power and authority.

2.     Jesus may have put the near-death experience of the

Centurion servant in his life to put focus on the power

And the authority of Jesus.

3.     When we take Jesus as our Lord we do not need to worry.

4.     When we take Jesus as our Lord, there is victory in our prayers.

 

 

WE PLEASE GOD WITH OUR FAITH

V:9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel."  10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

A.    Jesus was pleased with the faith of the centurion.

1.     The centurion concluded, that he didn’t have no

Doubt that Jesus would take care of is a servant.

2.     You cannot please God without faith.

B.     Your testimony about the power of Jesus inspires others around you.

1.     You never know how your faith in Jesus can inspire someone not

To give in and give up.

2.      The lesson we learn from the Roman Solider is don’t start

Serving God because of a miracle, serve God because He is a

Miracle maker.

3.     We ought to bless the Lord at all times with our service.

4.     If we live long enough, there will come a day when have to

Call on Lord by faith.

5.     I have a brother-in-law who the doctors had given up on him

Because of his cancer. That was thirty years ago and he is still

Living.

 

I KNOW A MAN CALLED JESUS WHO NEVER GIVES UP ON YOU

 

TRUST GOD AND NOT YOURSELF.

 

Rev. M. Mitchell  

 

 

NIV