I want to be a Thessalonian! (Now duck...)

Normal Christianity in Extreme Times – 2 Thessalonians Series – Part 1

Who wants to be a Thessalonian?

(2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, December 29, 2013)

[1:1] Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: [2] Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul's relationship with the first century church in Thessalonica was a story of normal Christianity in extreme times. The new church in that important city had faced persecution during a period when it must have seemed like the whole world was falling apart. Paul's letters to this church were God's Word to them (and to us) to stay on a steady course despite the upheaval that was touching their lives.

Our world faces strange disturbances that can seem to come in a moment. God our Father is steady, and we come to Him through our solid Rock—the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Father's plan of grace for us through the life and death of His Son is a Word of stability for our souls. Because of that Word, we can receive the Lord's peace and pass it on to others who love Him everywhere.

[3] We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. [4] Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

The normal life of Christianity, even in extreme times of distress, is a life of vigorously growing faith and love. When we are stagnant in faith, when we are increasingly impatient, or when we are unwilling to sacrifice our convenience for the sake of others, something unusually bad is taking place. The normal work of the Spirit of Jesus within us produces a life of increasing evidence of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, yet without being showy.

Paul saw this evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit in the church, and though he knew that this vigorously growing faith and love was just normal Jesus-driven Christianity, that does not mean that he considered it normal to ignore the good fact that the church that was thriving in a dangerous setting. The normal response to the normal good news of the work of the Lord in our lives is the giving of thanks to God. A happy thanksgiving for our brothers and sisters who are thriving in tough times should be a regular feature of our inner life and our outer communion. We do not deny suffering, but we share together the Lord's confidence in the promises of God.

Put the Word to Work: Replace unbelieving panic concerning societal disintegration with faithful thanksgiving for brothers and sisters who live in the shining light of the Lord.

Singing Psalm 27:1 from Trinity Psalter

The Lord's my shining light / And my salvation sure; / Who can fill me with fright / Or move my heart secure? / The Lord's my stronghold ever near; / Of whom then shall I stand in fear?

We thank the Lord our God

For brothers in His grace.

They suffer for their faith today.

They shall behold His face—

They shall behold His face!