“ the Word of the Lord has sounded forth from you . . . in every place ”–1 Thessalonians 1:8( NASB).
My Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus,
‘ The Little Church with the Big Voice’
That’s the theme of the first chapter of 1 Thessalonians. The Church of the Thessalonians was a small fellowship of believers in Christ that met in a private home owned by a man name Jason. The Christian congregation in Thessalonica (a very significant city in the ancient Roman world, and the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia with a population in excess of 100,000 citizens) had been established by the Apostle Paul a few months before the first of his two inspired letters were sent to them.
The Thessalonian Church was a little fellowship of infant believers that had been immediately cast into the fiery furnace of affliction and pain right at the beginning of their existence. There was no ‘honeymoon’ phase for them. Within just days of their first meetings in the name of Christ, they came under fire for their loyalty to Jesus, some of them even being dragged before the city officials and charged with sedition (see Acts 17:5-7). It was no overstatement at all when the Apostle reminded them that they had, indeed, “ received the word in much tribulation” (1 Thess. 1:6).
If we didn’t already know how their story turned out, we’d likely guess that this little flock of our Lord’s redeemed sheep would have been persecuted into silence, it not extinction! After all, to avoid any further trouble all they had to do was calm down, lower their voices, and stop talking about this One whose sovereignty, power, and worthiness far exceeded that of Rome’s esteemed emperor. Just be quiet about it! Everything will be OK if you keep your religion to yourself!
However. . .
This is not at all what happened! Rather than suppressing the Good News of salvation for the sake of their own safety, the Gospel “ sounded forth” from them, extending far beyond the borders of the city, echoing out deeper into Macedonia, flowing vibrantly even into the neighboring province of Achaia and beyond (1 Thess.1:8).
And what’s even more impressive is that this expansion of the Gospel from that little, sorely affected house-church was not part of some well-devised, strategic plan for evangelization. Rather, it was the spontaneous result of their simple reception of the message of salvation. They could not keep silent!
But Paul gives us a little more insight into this amazing thing in verse 6. Here he pinpoints their ‘secret.’ He shows us how such an apparently imperiled and troubled little congregation made such a big racket everywhere:
“ having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit.”
There it is, the secret to the spontaneous spread of the Gospel, as well as the most powerful means of encouraging other believers. It’s “ the joy of the Holy Spirit”!
In this same verse, Paul also makes it clear that the experience and outward expression of such Spirit-produced “ joy” was first seen in his own life, and, more importantly, even earlier in the life of the Lord Jesus Himself:
“ You also became imitators of us and the Lord.”
Time and space will not permit me to further establish this point. But, suffice it to say, the New Testament is replete with the evidence of Paul’s irrepressible joy in Christ, which was but a reflection of His Lord’s own joy. If I could cite just one passage, it would be Hebrews 12:2. There, Jesus is set forth as the One,
“who for the joythat was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Perhaps as you read these words, you are also prompted to remember another passage from the New Testament. In John 17, which includes the verbatim record of our Savior’s impassioned prayer just prior to His crucifixion, Jesus beseeches the Father to give the Church, you and me, His own “ joy”:
“But now I am coming to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves”(v. 13).
Now, let’s be quick to state that this “ joy” is not a frothy giddiness, nor a mere sense of happiness that endures only so long as good and pleasant things are happening to us. Rather, it is a deep and abiding satisfaction, an experience of fulfilment in Christ Jesus alone, which is produced by the Holy Spirit uniquely in the hearts of those who love and know the Savior.
And it is both visible and audible! It is totally impossible to have our Lord’s joy in our hearts without anyone knowing about it! Joy is neither invisible nor silent. It’s obvious, and it’s makes a loud racket!
This exalted species of joy explodes out from our hearts. If it is true joy, it is uncontainable! And, amazingly, it is also divinely powerful as a means to the spread of the Gospel, and for the encouragement of our fellow Christians as well!
Our joy in Christ, which the Holy Spirit births in us as we receive the Word of God, infects everything around us, in a good and God-glorifying way! It will wonderfully change our home, family, and marriage. It will positively impact our work environment, and our neighborhoods. It will spread to all of our relationships out in the world. And it will do all of this spontaneously, even when our lives are hard and filled with affliction! Such is the nature and power of this amazing gift of “ joy”! It is, for certain, a blessing that will infect and transform the whole wide world!
On this new Monday, let us seek this divine “ joy”! Let us pray that our Lord’s own eternal joy will fill our hearts, despite what may be happening around us, in us, or to us! Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to make a lot of noise in us, a holy and joyful sound, that will reverberate in all directions from our little flock! By God’s grace and power, let’s be ‘ The Little Church with the Big Voice’!
May you be filled with joy, His joy, today and every day!
I love you all, way more than I have words to express,
Mike