And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. (1 Thessalonians 1:6-7 NKJV)
Since we accepted the words preached to us, we believed that these words of God made a great transformation in us. The words of God encouraged us to embrace the gospel of Christ, surrender and submit ourselves to the commandments of the Lord, and suffer for His name’s sake. The gospel is the word of truth, peace, and of salvation of the Lord we received from Him and not from anyone else. With regards to the suffering of a believer, these come from people who do not believe in God. They will mock and persecute us. They will say blasphemous things and lies about us. When that time comes, others will cease to hear the words of God; they will stop serving Him. But those who have the Spirit of God will continue to serve Him. They will proclaim and testify for the words of God, which have the power to transform the lives of people from being sinners to saints, from sadness to gladness, and from wickedness to goodness. Most of all, we will experience freedom from being the devil’s captives to be servants of the Living God, the Almighty
