This really stuck out to me and then I went to a memorial service and I discovered why. Paul was excited not only that the church heard the message about Jesus but that they were sharing the message as well. They weren't only sharing the message but it was changing their lives. The person that passed and went home (Lariate) lived just like this. Her life was filled with speaking about Jesus, learning about Jesus and living like Jesus. I knew her for a couple of years and this was all I saw. In our lives as fully devoted followers of Jesus are we living like the Holy Spirit is in us leading us or are we living with our own desires trying to show that the Holy Spirit lives in us? We should be asking, seeking and knocking so much that we can't contain the excitement of knowing Him and sharing that with people should give us goose bumps.
People saw how the Thessalonians shared who share the good news and how their lives changed from their idols to loving God. I was at a service that Trent Renner was preaching at and he ask this question, "are we ready to hold nothing back from Christ and learn to do all we hear from Christ?"
This is how we should receive and deliver the good news no matter what troubles we are facing. Look what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 12-13 "We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory. Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe." I pray that my heart continues to grow and I never stop feeling the excitement that I have had since accepting Jesus in 2005 and I also pray for all believers to live as though nothing is better than knowing and belonging to Jesus Christ because there is nothing better. Amen