STANDING FAST IN THE LORD

(1 Thessalonians 3:6-13, Preaching: Pastor David Stewart, October 27, 2013)

     Our grandson Lucas is getting ready to walk. It is an important development in the life of a child. Our little ones here are either in the midst of this or soon will be. But before they can begin to walk, they must first learn to stand.

     Paul's very life is tied to these Thessalonians - he has sent Timothy to ensure that they are standing fast in the Lord. Before we can think about moving ahead, before we can think about where we are going, we must make sure we can stand fast.

     And so, as we saw last week, Paul is burdened by this desire to share his very life with them, sends Timothy "to establish and exhort them in the faith," and then offers a prayer for them here towards the end of our passage. We see this tremendous pastoral heart that Paul has for them.

     "But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love..." Verse 6 marks Timothy's return. By now Paul is no longer in Athens, he's gone on to Corinth. Silas comes back from Macedonia where he's been visiting Philippi and Timothy comes back from Thessalonica. Paul is thrilled for Timothy to come back. And verse 6 says, "But now."  So this letter was written immediately upon Timothy's arrival. When Paul sent Timothy he didn't know things were like in Thessalonica. But now that he writes this letter back, he has just gotten the word. And what was that word? "Timothy has brought us the good news..."

     I don't know exactly how much time had passed. Paul was now in Corinth, his heart longing to know what was going on. Timothy arrives and the news is, "Good news." Rather than using a simple word, he doesn't just say, "And Timothy gave a good report," or "Timothy came back and told us so-and-so." He said, "Timothy brought good news." He uses the word "gospel."  He brought us such good news I have to use a word that is usually referring to the news of salvation to even express how good it is. He takes the term reserved usually for the message of salvation by grace through faith, and so it was that kind of good news, thrilling news.

     And what was the news? Timothy gives three things. First, their faith was real! The gospel had truly taken root and had found good soil. There was no need to fear that the tempter had tempted them and that their labor was in vain. It hadn't been choked out even by the trials and temptations of persecution that had come their way.

     Second, he brought good news about their love. They loved God, they loved Christ, they loved one another, and they loved the lost. Their love was bearing witness throughout Madeconia and Achaia, as we saw in chapter 1. John Calvin says of these two words, "faith and love":  "Those two words are the sum of godliness."

     The third point is their deep affection for Paul, Timothy and Silas. "They always remember us kindly and long to see us." Paul had cared for them like a nursing mother, exhorted them as a father with his children. They are his hope and joy and crown of boasting before the Lord Jesus at his coming. What joy and delight to know that their faith and love are intact.

     You see how important they were to him. Look at verse 7. "For this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith." Because of the report of Timothy, for that very reason, in all their choking pressure, all the crushing trouble that had come on him; in all the troubles and trials and pains of his heart, it all of a sudden disappeared and he was comforted about them when he heard about the reality of their faith. They were strengthened for the work, the genuineness of their faith, the fact that he had received evidence that it was real saving faith was the most basic cause of his delight.

     This is the fourth time in the chapter that he's mentioned their faith. Faith is always the key. What delights the heart of a pastor? The faith of his people, the love of his people, the longing of his people to fellowship with him. That's the pastor's delight.

     As John Piper says, "The pastor's delight is not the size of the building, the looks of the facility, his reputation, his success, his degrees, the level of the fame of his congregation, the salary he gets, his prestige in the community. That's not the delight of a true pastor. The pastor's delight is found in his people. They can break his heart and they can make his heart rejoice."

     And so his sums this all up in verse 8: "For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord." It's as if Paul was experiencing death in the separation of not knowing their condition, not being able to care for them. But now we've received good news - that is our joy, that is our delight, that is what spurs us on in ministry - to know that you stand fast in the Lord.

     If you have a strong faith, if you have a strong commitment--that word "standfast" is a military term. It refers to a refusal to retreat against an attack. Stand your ground under attack. When I see you stand your ground under attack, I really live. I know you've got your armor on, you're holding up the shield of faith. I really live.

     To the Corinthians he wrote, chapter 16 verse 13, "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong." To the Galatians he wrote, chapter 5 verse 1, "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore..." To the Philippians he wrote, chapter 1 verse 27, "Onlly let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit..." In chapter 4 verse 1, to the Philippians again, he said, "Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved." And in that second letter to the Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 15, "So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter."

     Paul's desire was to always see them stand firm. And always the idea was standing against an attack and showing your faith is real, your commitment is strong. That's the delight of the pastor's heart. Again, not buildings, not size, not success,  not reputation, not money, but strong faith. And for this Paul cannot adequately find words to express his thanks to God. "For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God..."

     This is the heart of the pastor - a heart so full of thanksgiving. You need a pastor who is not dour and ungrateful. And we need to be a people who are thankful, celebrating together the good work that God is doing in our midst, through the joys, sorrows, trials and tribulations that come our way. Together we will stand fast in the Lord.

     And here we notice that Paul never intends for the Thessalonians to rest in their laurels, to think that they have arrived, to stop growing in Christ. It is time to start walking. "We pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith." There is still a lot of work to be done, so we best get praying. Our natural inclination is to start doing, but Paul's first reaction is to start praying.

     I also love this "we." Paul isn't praying alone - Paul, and Timothy, and Silas are together praying night and day for this fledgling church. Notice the earnestness of their prayers - night and day. It's not as if they never left their bedsides. But they were constantly in an attitude of prayer. And I'm sure that they prayed quite regularly together hour upon hour.

     What is Paul praying for? What is this issue? Number one, "That we may see you face to face," fellowship. I want to see your spiritual condition. I want to know you. I want to know what's going on in your life.

     Secondly, "I may supply what is lacking in your faith," spiritual growth. I want to see your spiritual condition and I want to be used by God to make you grow spiritually.

     Paul now concludes with what we would understand as a pastoral prayer. Spurgeon wrote, "I take it that a minister is always praying.  He is not always in the act of prayer, but he lives in the spirit of it." And again Spurgeon wrote, "If you are a genuine minister of God, you will stand as a priest before the Lord, spiritually wearing the ephod and the breastplate where on you bear the names of your children, pleading for them within the veil."

     Paul closes out this section by making a prayer for three things. But before we get to the specifics of the prayer, I want us to notices how he begins his prayer. "Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus..."  First of all, he jointly addresses God and Jesus.  He calls God Father and he calls Jesus Lord.  God is sovereign, Jesus is seen to be more personal and so he switches those and says, "God, our Father," using a more personal relational term, "and Jesus our Lord," emphasizing sovereignty.  And by the usage of those terminologies he puts God the Father and Jesus our Lord on an equal level.  He uses the pronoun "our" in both cases to emphasize the personal element, the personal relationship that he enjoys and the Thessalonians enjoy with both of them.  God is our Father, and Jesus is our Lord.   

     Then he uses a singular pronoun in the emphatic position, that is it's listed first in the Greek order so that in the Greek the sentence reads this way, "Now may Himself..."  The verb "direct" is also singular.  The Greek language has the capability of dealing with verbs in a much broader way than the English language.  We just can't make these kind of distinctions in English.  So it reads: "Now may Himself, our God and Father and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you."  Who is Himself then?  God the Father and Jesus the Lord.

     How wonderful that we can make our prayer to God, we can direct our prayer to Jesus, we can direct your prayer to both, for the Father and the Son are one.  Jesus said, "I and the Father are one."

     The first thing that Paul prays is that this God - the Father and the Son, would "direct our way to you." Paul is praying that God would make the path straight between himself and the Thessalonians and to remove any obstacles that are in the way.

     Remember last week, Paul said, "We wanted to come to you - I, Paul, again and again - but Satan hindered us." The only power that can overcome this obstacle is God. "May God himself direct our way to you." He alone can do it. No amount of effort on our part is going to accomplish it.

     And what was the purpose of this prayer? Notice again what Paul says in verse 10: "that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith." Paul desired to come to them and help them to continue to grow in their faith. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." This isn't just talking about initial saving faith, but our continuing growth in faith. We must continue to study the word that we may grow in faith. There is no other way.

     The church today seeks to grow through experience, but it will leave one cold and dissatisfied. Our faith must be built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord," as Paul says in Ephesians 2:20.

     The second thing Paul prays for is growth in love. Flowing out of a true and growing faith is love and he says, "And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you."  He knows that just as spiritual birth is dependent on God, spiritual growth is dependent on God.  As justification is a work of God, sanctification is the work of God.  So his prayer is that the Lord, and that, of course, refers to Jesus who is called the Lord in verse 11 and also in verse 13, "May the Lord Jesus cause you to increase and abound in love."  "May you have an increasing, overflowing kind of love."  The word "love" is agape, a word that means the strongest, highest, purest, noblest love, the love that sacrifices to meet the needs of others.

     In chapter 1, remember verse 3, he said, "Remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love..."  Love is there, faith is there, and what I want to see is the increase and the abounding of that faith.  And I want to see now the increase and the abounding of that love.

     Chapter 4 and verse 9 he says, "Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another..."  So I know you have the faith, it needs to grow.  I know you have the love that God has taught you, it needs to grow. For notice what he says in 4:10: "But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more." Love more.  This is the same kind of thing he said to the Philippian believers in 1:9. "And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more."  Paul always was praying for the growth of those he loved. 

     In fact, if you go back in to Romans chapter 1 and verse 11.  He's praying for their spiritual growth.  And you go to 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verses 9 and 10 and 11, he's praying for their spiritual growth.  And you go to 2 Cor 15 and 16 he's praying for their spiritual growth.  You come in to Ephesians chapter 4 and he's telling the Ephesians that he is given to the church along with the other prophets and pastor teachers and evangelists for the perfecting of the saints that they grow up into the image of Christ. 

     Epaphras was praying as Paul notes at the end of Colossians that Christians would become perfect and complete in all the will of God.  This whole thing of spiritual growth was on his heart.  And one major dimension was this growth in love.

     So what is the evidence of my growing faith in Christ? Love - love for God, love for one another, and love for my neighbor. As my love for God grows, my love for everybody else grows too.  I become rooted and grounded in love.  I experience its breath and length and height and depth and the very love of Christ that passes knowledge fills me with the fullness of God by which I love others.  That's the flow.

      The third petition of his prayer is this: "That God may establish their hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints." Faith, love, and now hope. Paul is praying that their hearts would become immovable, established in holiness through faith and love.

     We have only one goal - that is the perfecting of our souls. God is at work conforming our lives to the image of his beloved Son. He does this through our continued growth in the faith - as we are rooted and grounded in him, as we see our love abound towards him and one another, so that one day, one glorious day, we will be able to truly stand, blameless in holiness before our God and Father.

     We can't now imagine that we have to make sure we get everything right. This is God's work - Paul's prayer is that he, God, would establish our hearts blameless in holiness. If God has begun a good work in us through the Lord Jesus, he will bring it to completion in the day of Christ Jesus.

     This is truly our hope. That God is at work in us - chastening us, refining us, pruning us - making us holy; for we cannot do this ourselves. But God, by the finished work of Christ, and by the application of the work of the Spirit, will do it. We must look to him who is our strength and not in our own efforts.

     So what do we pray for? A faith that is vibrant and growing; a love that abounds towards one another and all; and a hope that is rooted in the sanctifying work of Spirit. Faith, love and  hope. In this we take our stand, for it is in this that we can stand fast in the Lord.

You guys are something special...

You Are Our Glory and Joy

(1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, October 20, 2013)

[17] But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, [18] because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. [19] For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? [20] For you are our glory and joy.The brief time that the Apostle Paul was able to spend in Thessalonica was full of conflict. He would have wanted to stay with the young church there longer. “We were torn away from you.” In those few weeks, they became brothers in Christ, and fellow soldiers for a common king.

That battle was not like the struggles of armies on this earth. It was a battle in the heavens. We win that battle when we remain faithful to the end. When we stay with our marriages, continue to love and serve our families, and when we continue in our calling with joy, we show forth our premier loyalty—our devotion to Jesus Christ. This was the battle for the Thessalonians and it is our battle today.

Paul had a very strong desire to return to Thessalonica in order to be with the church in this great spiritual contest. He wanted to see them “again and again.” Why couldn't he just travel north again from Berea or Athens? His own testimony is that “Satan hindered” that good desire. This really was a battle! Satan, a leader of fallen angels, was attempting to stop spiritual reinforcements from coming. In every puzzling providence that our Lord allows we can be confident that what an enemy means for evil the Lord is working for good.

What was Paul's agenda? He wanted these new brothers and sisters in Christ to shine on the day of Christ's coming. Their victory over sin and temptation would be his victory as a minister who cared for them with God's love. A parent wants to see his children find lasting happiness and security, and a true Christ-following minister wants to see everyone in his church stay firm in the faith until the end.. This is a difficult battle. Like parents of adult children, he must not over-pastor. If he pesters too much, then people might not have the opportunity to see Christ's work flourishing within each of them. But what will happen if he leaves everyone to themselves?

[3:1] Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, [2] and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, [3] that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. [4] For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. [5] For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.

Thankfully, in a mature church the pastor is not the only one pastoring. Their are others who are each doing their part as we help one another to follow the Lord. Paul had Timothy and others that he could send north to check on the church while he remained in Athens. Timothy was much younger than Paul, but he was his brother and coworker in the gospel of Christ.

What did Paul expect young Timothy to do when he arrived in the church? This was not merely a mission to satisfy Paul's curiosity. Paul expected this good minister of the gospel to speak. He needed to continue to teach the church. They already had faith in Christ, but they had need to be further established in what they believe. They needed to be exhorted to follow what they knew. This is the work of the gospel ministry. Through the patient exposition of the Scriptures over as many years as the Lord grants us, we need to be faithful to the work that God has given.

In particular, Timothy needed to teach about the sovereignty and grace of Almighty God in the midst of affliction. Paul had already warned them that they would face affliction, but he needed Timothy to reinforce this message from the Hebrew Scriptures and from the gospel of Jesus. It was plain that true prophets of God needed to be able to suffer patiently for the Lord. I am always struck by the providence of God in Jeremiah's life after the Babylonians defeated Jerusalem. He had been telling everyone who would listen that they needed to submit to the Babylonians as agents of the Lord's discipline. This was a very unpopular message. The people wanted to find a competing empire and to hide under their wing, perhaps looking for help from Egypt. Jeremiah forthrightly told them that this was against the Lord's will and that it would lead to great suffering and death. What did they do? They took the prophet as prisoner with them to Egypt. The faithful prophet has an expectation of suffering. Though Satan may have his ugly part in that, the Lord's gracious purposes will ripen fast.

This was not only demonstrated throughout the Old Testament. It was also at the center of the gospel message. Where did Christ do His most powerful work? Was it not in His suffering and death for us on the cross? Evil men and angels had their agenda that day, but God was doing it for supreme good. The Lord was sovereign and gracious in the suffering of His own Son. Jesus warned His disciples that they would suffer. Paul and Timothy simply agreed with Jesus.

This does not make any of it easy. Through these afflictions we learn to trust the Lord and to stay firm together in the faith. The battle is still on. The tempter still comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus is the Name above every name, and he comes to bring life.

There is a power from above that can shine through affliction. There is a surprising glory and joy that comes from heaven when the suffering servants of God yield to our King's good plan for us. Perhaps this is why we face the battle of faith that we face, so that we might stand firm even when it seems like we have barely survived. Could it be that God intends to shine forth His glory and heaven's joy through your brief days on this earth? Are you willing for that to be at least a part of the story of your life?

Of course all of us want to see good things for each other. We are praying for that, and we should. What we do not receive here below, we can trust Jesus for, knowing that He has more than we have asked for or imagined already in store for us in His kingdom. But we must not throw away the day of trouble as if it is nothing, or as if Satan's purposes will be victorious. His time to harass the saints of God is very brief. Like Joseph of old, we may spend a few years in the Pharaoh's prison, but at just the right time we will find ourselves at the right hand of the Majesty of God on high.

The way that we persevere through affliction is part of God's good work in our lives. True ministers are asking God to help the flock of Jesus to keep on going with their marriages, their families, the church, and the One who is Lord over us all through every difficulty or blessing. The true and living God gives Himself to His children, giving them the power to persevere.

The church of our dear Lord

Empowered from on high

Shines forth the glory of our God

Reflecting heaven's joy.

A Mother's Nurture and a Father's Instruction

Sharing With You the Gospel and Our Lives
(1 Thessalonians 2:1-16; Sunday, October 13; Preaching: Associate Pastor Nathan Snyder)

From Luke’s account in Acts, it seems Paul and Silas only spent a few weeks in Thessalonica before strong opposition against them forced them to have to leave town.  It was an amazing work of the Holy Spirit that in such a small amount of time, a new congregation of believers was born, and that under such difficult circumstances.  Paul mentions in verse 14 how these new Christians suffered much from their countrymen, just as the Jewish Christians in Judea had suffered from the unbelieving Jews.  The Thessalonian Christians had embraced the message preached by Paul and Silas as not merely the words of men but as the very word of God, which of course it was (verse 13).  Paul and Silas had been empowered by God to bring his good news, what Paul calls three times “the gospel of God” (verses 2, 8, 9).  Just as God had given them boldness under stiff opposition to declare this good news of salvation through Jesus Christ (verse 2), so God had empowered these new Christians to embrace that good news with the joy of the Holy Spirit, even while experiencing great persecution (1:4-6; 2:13-14).  Since this was all the work of God, Paul and Silas gave thanks to God for the new faith of these Christians (verse 13).  The credit did not ultimately go to Paul and Silas who brought the good news.  They were just the messengers of God’s word, and it was God who enabled them to proclaim in boldly.  Nor did the credit go to the Thessalonians for receiving that good news.  God graciously enabled them to receive it.  The same is true for us today.  Are we able to receive God’s word in faith?  Tell others the good news?  Face affliction with joy?  Thanks be to God!  This is the grace of God to us.

In the midst of giving thanks to God, Paul spends two paragraph reminding the Thessalonians of the integrity of his own ministry among them and his great love for them.  This might sound strange.  If all the glory goes to God, why is Paul talking so much about himself here?  Paul was likely concerned because circumstances had forced him and Silas to leave after only a short time with the fledgling church.  Perhaps he thought it might look like he had done a drive-by gospelling.  Come into town, fire the gospel at people, win some converts, and then when trouble comes, abandon them.  Paul actually sent Timothy from Athens back to see how the new church was doing (3:1-5) and Timothy had returned with a report before Paul wrote this letter.  Timothy brought a good report of the Thessalonians’ continuing faith and love and their longing to see Paul (3:6).  This was a big encouragement to Paul because he longed to see them as well, and he was eager for them to grow in their new faith.  He genuinely did care about them and didn’t want anyone to think otherwise.  He says in verse 8 that they had become very dear to him, even after just beginning to get to know them before they were abruptly ripped away by godless men who opposed God’s salvation (verses 15-17).

So Paul defended his character and ministry because he wanted the Thessalonians to know that he really did love them.  A related issue here is that as an ambassador of Jesus Christ, the message Paul proclaimed was tied to the life he lived as he proclaimed the message.  What would Paul be communicating if he professed to speak the plain truth of God and yet was found to be using deceitful methods (verse 3)?  God is not an unscrupulous salesman who promises one thing but delivers something else.  His word is true.  When he promises eternal life and love and joy through his Son, he means it.  Or what would Paul be communicating if he proclaimed the glory of God in Christ with his lips and yet was clearly seeking to please people and win their approval and praise for himself (verses 4, 6)?  The gospel is not a display of my glory or your glory.  It is a display of the glory of God through his Son Jesus as he saves hell-deserving sinners such as ourselves through the sacrifice and righteousness of Jesus.  And God calls us to a glorious life of pleasing him, not living enslaved to the wishes of others and trying to please everyone.  Or what would Paul be communicating if he spoke about the free grace of God and yet was angling to get people’s money or making burdensome demands on people (verses 5-6, 9)?  What would Paul be communicating if he spoke about the love of God, but was himself cold toward his hearers (verses 7-8)?  God gives us his grace as a gift to be received by trusting him.  Praise God he doesn’t make hoops for us to jump through to earn his grace and love!  Nor does he treat us as minions in some grand project.  He doesn’t need us but in his love he gives us the privilege of being used for his kingdom work.  He gives us gifts to use in service to one another, but it all comes from him.  It is all a gift of his free grace.  Because Paul loved the Thessalonians and wanted only to be a catalyst for their coming to know the free grace of God in Christ and experience that grace changing their lives through the Holy Spirit, he was eager to defend his character and ministry.  He sought by his life to commend the very gospel he proclaimed and the God who gives himself to us through the gospel, the good news of his Son.  It was because his and his companions’ lives commended the gospel they proclaimed that Paul could say their coming was not in vain (verse 1).

Paul uses two parenting metaphors in his description of his ministry.  In verses 7-8 he says he had been like a nursing mother taking care of her children.  He was affectionately desirous of these new believers.  He didn’t just share the gospel, he shared his own self, his own life with them, because they had become very dear to him.  This is a beautiful picture, and I hope it will sink deep in our subconscious that this is what God is like with us.  He has strong affection for his children.  Child of God, you are very dear to him.  He has a mother’s love for you.  He wants you to thrive and flourish.  His heart longs for you.  And at the heart of the gospel is this message: God has come to share with us himself.  He gave up his life on the cross that he might draw us forever to himself.  We might then ask ourselves this: Do we love and long for one another?  Does our heart toward our brothers and sisters reflect God’s heart toward his children?  Sharing our lives with one another gets messy.  God’s love is messy.  It got messy on the cross.  He has drawn us into his family and we are very dear to him.

In verses 9-12 Paul says he was also like a father with his children as he instructed them and charged them to live in a manner worthy of God who had called them to his own kingdom and glory.  In verses 9-10 we see how Paul himself was seeking to live such a life.  As would a good father, Paul taught by both word and example.  When he urged these new believers to live in a manner worthy of God, he didn’t mean they must make themselves worthy of God.  The gospel is a message of free grace to unworthy sinners who don’t deserve God, don’t deserve to be in his kingdom, and don’t deserve to see his glory.  God calls us sinners to himself, into his kingdom, to enjoy his glory.  This is an amazing privilege!  Likewise, it is an amazing privilege that as citizens now of God’s kingdom, as his very children, our lives reflect on him, and we have the opportunity to live in a way that shows his worth.  An honorable father who loves his children teaches them to live in a way that reflects the honor of the family.  This is what God our Father calls us to.  Think of the words of Jesus: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).  Of course, these words show our need for Christ’s perfect righteousness because we do not have perfect righteousness apart from him.  But they are also a loving charge from God through his Son to us whom he has adopted now as his children.  We have the privilege of reflecting our Father’s character.  This should not discourage us because he gives us power through the Holy Spirit to grow in this as we look to him for strength.  Walking in obedience is not easy.  Our sinful flesh keeps pulling us back, and as we read in verses 14-16, we may experience opposition in the world from those who displease God and oppose the spread of his kingdom.  But it is the word of God which is at work in us who believe that equips us to grow in obedience to our Father (verse 13).  And we help one another as we share our lives together and speak the truth of God’s word to one another in love.

What do we say regarding Paul’s words in verses 14-16 about the wrath of God on the Jews who sought to hinder his salvation from going to the Gentiles?  Is this contradictory to the love of God we have been speaking about?  The answer is no.  Yet clearly God is not happy when his own people Israel would kill the prophets he sent to them, kill his own Son whom he sent for their salvation, shut themselves out of his kingdom, and try to hinder others from coming in.  Note that Paul is talking about unbelieving Israel here.  Many Jews, including Paul himself, had embraced Jesus as the Christ.  Actually, Paul had been among those trying to squash the spread of Christianity until Jesus mercifully saved him.  But many Jews did not receive God’s saving purposes and tried to stop the gospel going out to others.  When Paul speaks of the wrath of God here I think he is referring to the partial hardening of the Jewish people, meaning God’s giving them over to their rebellion and letting them thrust themselves out of his kingdom.  Paul speaks of this in Romans 11 where he also says that one day God will overcome this unbelief and all Israel will be saved.  In any case, even in God’s wrath here we see his love.  While the unbelieving Jews were opposing all mankind, God would love for all mankind to come into his family.  Have you received the love of God offered in his gospel?  If you are outside God’s kingdom and his family, do not stay outside!  He has freely given himself on the cross for your sins so that even you can come in by his free grace.  He wants to share with you his own life for you to enjoy him and learn to reflect his goodness and righteousness forever.

Sorry for my sins... Am I just useless?

You Became an Example

(1 Thessalonians 1, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, October 6, 2013)

[1:1] Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.The Lord brought Paul and his gospel companions to Thessalonica where they taught those who were willing to listen to them about the momentous developments that had taken place in Jerusalem. The long-expected Messiah had come. He had achieved for Jews and Gentiles deliverance from God's judgment. Now, through faith in His Name, people from all over the world could be a part of God's eternal kingdom.

Some received that message gladly, but others did not. Paul was only able to serve there for a few weeks before the persecution was so intense that the brothers sent him on to the less-populous and wealthier country town of Berea. From there he went to Athens and then to Corinth where he labored for a considerable time. But how were the brothers and sisters in Thessalonica doing? Paul needed to know. He sent Timothy, who returned with a good report. Now the apostle sent this brief letter to the assembly “in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” He spoke words to them of grace and peace.

[2] We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, [3] remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

He told the church of his prayers to God concerning them. He could not get this church out of his mind, so he was constantly talking to the Lord about them. Now he could be doubly thankful because of the good report from Timothy. He thanked God for them. They had faith that was busy with good works. They had love that was proven in their labor. They had hope in Christ and the coming resurrection kingdom that would not quit. These were gifts from heaven. They were children of God their Father. They had come to know the Lord Jesus Christ.

I wonder how they felt about themselves? Did they think that they were going to make it? They were facing intense opposition. Did they consider their lives pitiful and their work together wasted? That would not be surprising.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer thought his Christian life in prison was very unimpressive, an embarrassment. Yet his daily offering to the Lord under the most trying conditions has inspired millions.

What were Jim Elliot's last thoughts as the passionate young missionary lost his life before he had a chance to communicate the gospel to any of the Auca Indians that he came to love? He could not know what his wife and daughter would do when they returned to the same place where their husband and father had been martyred. He did not know the books that Elizabeth would write.

We need to thank God for one another. We need to thank Him when we see anything of resurrection life in our feeble efforts or achievements. We need to believe that when we give a cup of cold water to a child in Jesus' name, that it makes a difference to our coming King.

[4] For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, [5] because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.

We have been chosen by God, and sometimes we just can't see it. The evidence of God's gifts to the church in Thessalonica was everywhere. They heard the good news of Jesus and the kingdom and they received it. Talk is cheep, and nothing dries faster than a tear. They did more than talk and cry. They had the power of a life changed by the Creator of the universe.

They were fully convinced. There was evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit among them. This kind of change requires adversity in order to be proven to be the work of God that it really is.

Think of the first disciples of Jesus. A small group of unknown men spent three years with the Lord before his death alone on a cross. Three days after He died His tomb was empty. Even after He had appeared to them for forty days and taught them about the resurrection kingdom, they still did not understand their mission. Could these unimportant and confused people change the world? But when they faced adversity and were willing to die for their testimony of Jesus' resurrection, their simple lives made a big difference. They had a gift from heaven. That makes all the difference. They were examples. But more than the disciples, think of Jesus, our example.

You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. [6] And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, [7] so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. [8] For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. [9] For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, [10] and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.What about Paul and his companions? They proved the reality of God's work in their lives through suffering. Paul and Silas singing hymns in the inner prison in Philippi... That's where they were before they came to Thessalonica. When the city fathers found out that Paul was a Roman citizen, they led him out of the city by the hand as a show of late respect. What a bizarre life we Christians lead. Beaten up and then sort of honored. We live to sing another day. We seem to barely persevere, and someone is impressed.

True faith, true hope, true love... God gives these gifts. He makes them shine through adversity. Just when we think that we are all failures, he makes us an example to others of something that could only have come from heaven.

Paul writes to the Ephesians about what we all were by nature: “children of wrath.” But God loved us. The church in Thessalonica was made up of former idol worshipers. Now they served the living and true God. Now they were waiting for Jesus to come again. They were waiting for the trumpet to sound, and for Judgment Day to come. They knew that they would be safe because of Jesus.

Are you tempted to give up on your church and even your own testimony? Do not give up. Keep on believing that Jesus is with you now, and that He is coming again. Pray for your own obedience to His Word. Pray that you will be the example that you already are. Thank God for each other. Trust God, and trust God's work in one another. This is the way to glorify the Lord.

Give thanks unto the Lord

For brothers whom He loves,

Examples of the way of life,

A gift from God above.