"And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy

of the Holy Ghost." I Thessalonians 2:14 "For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:" I Thessalonians 1:6

"The Man Of God Must Be The Model"

Life is filled with illustrations of the power of example. A Chinese proverb says, "Better to see a thing once than to hear about it a hundred times." The early church employed the dynamics that are in that principle. Paul says to the Thessalonians church, "The sound of the Gospel has gone from you into all the world." Everywhere the apostle went people were talking about the faith of Thessalonica. Your faith is such that we need not speak for your works. Show how you turned to God from idols to serve the Living God. The early church discovered by revelation that the power of evangelism is in example ship. Understanding this principle they put it into practice, and reproduced itself to the point that in thirty-three short years the known world had the Gospel. Paul said of the church at Thessalonica, "Everywhere I go your influence is felt." In Acts 2:47 the verse reads, "The Lord added daily to the Church." And so were the churches established in the faith and increased in number daily. In those days the number of disciples were multiplied so mightily grew the Word of God and prevailed. A handful of believers in Thessalonica recognize they are responsible to take the Gospel, to put it into practice in their own lives, to live lives that were such an example to influence others. Not only to set an example but to call others to the same, and doing that, they reach out to the entire known world. Can you imagine that small band in a few years threatening the Roman Empire? We are called to be an example. Christianity is founded upon this Truth. Truth must become incarnate before it can be understood, embraced and put into practice by another person. The pulpit must model this truth. Others cannot comprehend truth, until they see truth incarnated in us. When they see truth by what we are, not merely what we say, they see what th Gospel really is. Everyone of us are responsible to be an example of believers. Especially the Man of God. The problem in Jesus' day there were many religious people, there were lawyers who were informers of the law. They were not teachers, you can only teach by example. These men were only informers. Christianity is filled with informers. The world does not need informers, It needs instructors who demonstrate what it is to be a Christian, by living a Christian life. In that kind of instructions there is power to bring the Gospel to a world that is lost. Truth has no meaning without the experience of the teacher. If we are only passing on religious concepts all is lost. Truth has no reference, no meaning outside the experience of the teacher. As long as we are merely informers, there is no power, we cannot reproduce. Jesus spoke of religion making converts that were twofold more a child of Hell after he was made. Our converts become what we are, it is therefore imperative that we live the right kind of life. Jesus said, "The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his Lord." (Matthew 10:24) In other words, no man will rise above his example. Every man when he is fully taught will be like his teacher. Paul wrote Timothy, "The things you have heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." (II Timothy 2:2) The lesson in this is, truth is imparted life to life and truth is shared out of a life of experience. You and I have no right to declare or teach what we have not experienced. This is the weakness of the Church in this late hour. Preachers preach what they have not received and it has no impact. You may read truth or hear truth and be greatly excited, but that does not mean you possess that truth. The church is structured on example ship. Paul's philosophy was, "follow me as I follow the Lord." The Church began with twelve men who partook of Christ's life. Out of their experience with Him they began to call others. They were the truth, they lived the Gospel. They set the example. That power brought rapid growth. Paul writes, "You became an example to all that believe in Macedonia." (I Thessalonians 1:7) Take that out of the Gospel

and all that is left is religion. The power of Christianity is one person sharing his experience with another. If you have no experience you have nothing to share. The process is, people believe, they are saved, and begin to follow the example. That is how the Gospel works. Paul said to the Thessalonians, "We preached, you believed and were saved. You saw how we lived the Christian life, you in turn begin to live the same life, others followed your example and the chain reaction brought the Gospel to the known world." Some say, "Don't look at me." "Why not?" "Is something wrong?" Whether good or bad the truth is, we teach by what we are. We are not Christians by what we say, we are Christians by what we are. It is the responsibility of every believer to live what the Bible says is a Christian life. If you cannot do that you are still in your sins. If you cannot say to others I have found the answer, follow me, you need to go back to the altar. Paul carries the principle beyond the individual in I Thessalonians 2:14, "for ye brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus." The churches of Greece saw the Godliness of the churches of Judea, they repeated the process. If a church is not an example, where will you find it? If we cannot find a pattern to emulate, where will we find reality. The reason there are so many dead churches, there are so many dead churches. Someone reproduces the same thing they have been taught, thus the death process is continually repeated. As Jesus passed along life, he called men with the words, "Follow me." What He really said was come walk with me, be with me, become like me. This must be the role of the Preacher. After three and one half years Jesus was crucified, the disciples were left with an experience that reproduced the Savior a thousand fold. The Gospel is spread from person to person. Every believer is called to call others to follow them as they follow Christ. We teach by what we are. The disciples learned to pray by watching Jesus pray. The Church is structured on the same principle. This must be balanced. I am not talking about a blind submission or subjection, I am speaking of following those who follow Christ. Boys become like their fathers, like mother like daughter. Acts 17 speaks of those who searched the Scripture to see if those things are right. We are responsible to know the right, and when we know we must follow.