Thoughts on the book of 1 Thessalonians. Where is the Holy Spirit in my church? That’s a question I’ve asked myself often, for as long as I can remember understanding the purpose and power of the Spirit from Scripture. And I hear many other church people who are hungry for the Spirit in their lives and churches asking the same question. Where is the boldness that’s supposed to come from the Holy Spirit? That’s another similar question. Isn’t the Holy Spirit supposed to make a difference in our lives and in our churches? Why does it seem as though our churches are filled with people who are relatively the same as the non-believers around them? Where is that spiritual “oomph” that’s supposed to be evident in the lives of people who have received the Holy Spirit? Where is the power of the Gospel? Isn’t the Holy Spirit supposed to convict people’s hearts when the Gospel is preached, so that they are forever changed? Why so little transformation going on in our churches (even though 9 of 10 churches use that word in their mission statement)? In 1 Thessalonians 1:5, Paul writes: “For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.” I want to see THAT Gospel at work in our churches! Why don’t we see it that often? Ironically, I think the solution to all these questions is: OPPOSITION. We face very little opposition. Even the opposition we might face, we try very hard to avoid it. We are always asking, “Where is the moving of the Holy Spirit that we see in Acts?” But we seldom ask, “Where is the opposition that we see in Acts?” But wait, Tim…we don’t want opposition to the Gospel…we want supernatural display of and reception of the Gospel! This is our very problem, in my opinion. In our efforts to avoid opposition to the Gospel, we distort the Gospel into something more palatable for everyone to receive, so that the masses will respond favorably to it. Of course, we can...