MONDAY 30th
1 Thessalonians 1:4-5
NIV (vv4-5) – ‘For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.’
ESV (vv4-5) – ‘For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.’
The gospel came to the Thessalonian’s in word, in power, in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. It must have been an amazing experience to sit under the teaching and preaching ministry of the New Testament apostles, they truly were men who had the calling and the anointing of God upon their lives, they preached the gospel with such a powerful anointing upon it that the hearers came under deep conviction that led to repentance and salvation. We know that it happened on the day of Pentecost, after Peter stood up with the eleven and preached. It says that the crowd who listened were cut to the heart, conviction was at work deep in their lives causing them to respond with the question, ‘What shall we do?’ to which Peter responded ‘Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’, (Acts 2:37-38) Later in Acts we have the account of where Peter preached to the uncircumcised, that is the Gentiles, after responding to the call to go to Cornelius, and even while Peter was still speaking the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. (Acts 10) When it came to them preaching of Jesus in Thessalonica the statement is made, ‘These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also’ (Acts 17:6) it was a cry of dismay, from those who were antagonists, but it was also a testimony to the powerful preaching of the apostle.
May this become our experience as we preach and teach Jesus at Emmanuel, my earnest prayer is that we will truly know what it is to deliver the gospel, not simply with words, but also in power, with the Holy Spirit working with deep conviction. One of the things we have started doing in our mid-week prayer meeting is to pray in particular for the Sunday morning service, that we will truly know the power and the presence of God among us, please, please, can I urge you, if you can, to please come along to join with us as we meet for prayer that together we can cry out to God to visit us afresh, that we will truly be a Church where signs and wonders will accompany the preaching of the Word. Who knows, maybe we will turn Gateshead upside down!