Mutual Encouragement (1 Thes. 3:6-13)

How's the first year as a church been?

If you're visiting, maybe this is your first week.

You just missed our birthday last week.

We celebrated. We had some BBQ thanks to the

Jacksons. Whoever made the banana pudding,

that was delicious. One of my favorite desserts.

Much to be thankful for. Maybe you've been asked that

question a few times in the last week.

How's the first year as a church been?

How would you answer? I can say without a doubt that

when I reflect back on the last year, I have 1000 reasons to be

thankful. Just a few because that would

take the whole sermon. 1 is even before we planted, so many

churches have been praying for us, partnering with us, cheering

us on from the sidelines. It is a beautiful picture of the

Kingdom of God and the Catholicity of the Church.

You know the the truth is too. It seems like especially after

the services, we actually like one another.

The end of the service doesn't just disperse and everyone run

to their cars. It takes a bit to get out of

this, this building. Thank the Lord for that.

I've been blessed by the sermons, especially Bobby's

preaching through a probably a month on self denial and Mark so

rich, the series in Habakkuk Brothers, so many of you, the

devotionals you've given the first one and then the second,

praise the Lord. So encouraging.

The singing though, wow, seriously, even today, just a

little taste of heaven. The church I grew up in, mainly

the singing happened up here, very little singing happened

down there. And I just praise God when I

look around while I'm singing, I just see Saints belting out

praise to the Lord and to one another.

So many of you throughout the week, you're reading the Bible

together, you're studying scripture.

I heard a few of you brothers are memorizing the whole book of

Colossians. Wow.

Children's ministry. Thank you for serving this

church and the children and teaching them the gospel.

I'm grateful in our first year we have lay elders Ashok and

Brandon serving the church faithfully, much to be thankful

for. What if we ask that question?

How's the first year been to the Church of Thessalonica?

If you have your Bible, go ahead and turn to 1st Thessalonians

chapter 3. How would they respond?

What would they say? How's the first year been?

You know, based on the letter itself and on some historical

background we get in Acts chapter 17, I think they would

Acts 17 · chapter mention

respond something like this. I think they'd tell us about

their conversion. They did not plant like us with

50 Bible believing Christians. They planted with brand new

converts. Paul, Silas and Timothy had come

to Thessalonica and over 3 Sabbaths they preached God's

word and persuaded them of Jesus Christ.

And they turn from idols and the next Sunday they're worshipping

Jesus. That's how their church was

planted. But they'd also tell us about

their suffering their first year.

They might say, well, our first year has been the hardest year

of our lives. We follow Jesus Christ and we've

gotten a lot of suffering, which Paul actually told us is exactly

what might happen. And Paul told us it's actually a

normal part about being a Christian.

He said follow me as I follow this suffering Savior.

They would also tell us, though, about their hope in the midst of

their suffering. Paul reminded them in just their

few short months together, constantly, week after week of

the certain return of Jesus Christ, that day when he will

make all things new. They were a new church plant,

but they had their minds on heaven from the beginning.

But the Thessalonian church would also tell us about Paul's

sudden departure. One day Paul was here preaching,

and then the next day he was gone.

Our leader, he skipped town, travelled to Berea.

We haven't heard from him since. People are starting to talk.

Paul, that guy who came through town, you think he was

legitimate? Maybe he had hidden motives.

Do you think Paul really loved you?

Where's Paul now? And how would Paul have

responded to those accusations? First Thessalonians is part of

Paul's response in Chapter 1. Paul says he's been so

encouraged by their faith night and day.

He says he remembers them, him, Silas and Timothy in prayer.

It's like he's working through his mental membership directory

of the first church in Thessalonica, just thanking the

Lord for their faith. He even says godly gossips been

spreading about their church throughout the whole region.

People are saying, have you heard about the church in

Thessalonica? So much so that Paul says this

Church of all the churches in the New Testament is an example.

And in chapter 2, Paul even defends his ministry to them.

He says, guys, you know me, God is my witness.

I shared the word with you, I shared my life with you.

And he would tell them, I tried to come visit you, but Satan

kept hindering me from coming. I couldn't come.

And that's why in the first part of chapter 3, Paul explains why

he sent Timothy to them. He was worried about their

faith. They were baby believers.

They just learned to swim. He feared they might be crushed

under wave after wave of suffering.

He was scared of Satan's schemes that Satan might try to snuff

out their few months old faith. And today we hear Timothy's

report back to Paul. And let me tell you, it's good

news. So turn to chapter 3.

Look at verses 6 to 13. Listen as I read God's word.

But now that Timothy has come to us from you and has brought us

the good news of your faith and love, and reported that you

always remember us kindly and long to see us as we long to see

you. For this reason, brothers, in

all our distress and affliction, we have been comforted about you

through your faith. For now we live if you are

standing fast in the Lord. For what Thanksgiving can we

return to God for you? For all the joy that we feel for

your sake before our God as we pray most earnestly night and

day, that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking

in your faith. Now.

May our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our

way to you. And may the Lord make you

increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we

do for you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless

in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord

Jesus with all His Saints. Friends, did you hear Paul's

heartbeat? Here's a shepherd who loves his

sheep. Verse 6, we long to see you.

Verse 7, we have been comforted about you.

Verse 8 We live if you are standing fast.

Verse 9 What Thanksgiving can we return to God for you for all

the joy we feel for your sake? How much can you really love

someone after only spending a few months together?

Ask Paul. Apparently a lot.

Ask the Thessalonians. They did not have to guess about

Paul's affections for them. He loved them, so he was

concerned about them, so he longed to see them, so he didn't

stop praying for them. This is how Paul ministered in

light of that day, that day when Jesus Christ would return.

And here's how you should respond in light of Paul's

letter. Here's the main point.

In hope of glory, let your faith be a comfort and be a friend

that prays. I'll repeat it.

In hope of glory, let your faith be a comfort and be a friend

that prays. .1 of 2 verses 6 to 10.

Faith that comforts. Faith that comforts.

We need to remember a little context as we dive in.

Since it's been about a month, remember that Paul could bear

the silence no longer. He needed to find out about

their faith. That's why he sent Timothy.

And keep in mind, Paul likely waited a while for Timothy to

return. It was a 200 mile trip from

Athens to Thessalonica. That's about 10 days of travel.

Timothy probably stayed a few days or maybe even a week with

the Thessalonians. Then there's the ten day return

trip. So it's likely that Paul's been

waiting for at least a month. He's like that parent who's

waiting to hear from their first child off at college.

He's anxious to get anything, a text message, a phone call to

hear about how they're doing. And when Timothy returns, Paul

hears good news. Look at verse 6.

Timothy brought good news. That's how Paul describes

Timothy's report. Every other time Paul uses that

word, he's talking about the preaching of the gospel.

But here he uses that word to show just how good Timothy's

report was. When you're sitting in the

waiting room, what a relief when you finally hear good news.

That's how Paul felt. Paul knew that the Thessalonian

church was suffering for the gospel.

But notice Paul's relief did not come from the end of their

trials. It came verse 6, from the growth

of their faith and their love in the midst of their trials.

Now, when we see a brother or sister in trouble, we so often

want to end their troubles. But Paul's response should

challenge us. He cares most about their faith

and their love. Brothers and sisters, what's

your aim in your discipline? What's your dream for your

disciple? What's the best news you could

hear about them? Is it that they have no more

major illnesses or sicknesses? Or that their health struggles

have ended, or that they finally found a job, or that they're

moving up the corporate ladder? That they're able to live a

comfortable life? That they're respected in the

community? That they finally finished that

degree? That they're successful.

The top of Paul's list of priorities was spiritual growth.

So think about the last year. Have you grown in faith and in

love, or is that brother or sister that you've been meeting

with growing in their faith towards God and their love

towards the Saints? Let that be the aim of your book

studies and your Bible studies and your lunches together and

coffees and dinners and the 15 minutes you have before and

after the service. Aim at their faith and their

love. Those are the two issues on

which life depends. The Thessalonians were growing

in faith and love and their growth was a comfort to Paul.

Remember Paul's visit before he came to Thessalonica.

Before Paul came to Thessalonica, he was persecuted

at Philippine. In Thessalonica, he was chased

out of town by the Jews. After Thessalonica, those same

Jews followed him to Berea and chased him out of Berea.

What I'm trying to say is Paul had his own troubles, he had his

own problems, and yet in his distress, in his afflictions,

who's he concerned about? Their faith and he's comforted

by their faith. Brothers and sisters, by what

are you comforted? I trust today that you've come

to church with your own problems, your own troubles,

your own distress and affliction.

But if you're in Christ, not a day goes by where your heavenly

Father has forgotten you. Not an hour passes where your

Father in heaven does it know just what you need.

Not a minute. A second lapses where your

heavenly Father isn't orchestrating everything around

you for your good. And one of the ways that God's

comforts suffering Saints is by turning their concerns from

themselves to their brothers and sisters.

Are your relationships in the body after one year together,

deep enough that the faith of your fellow members could bring

you comfort? Have you put in the time and the

effort to know these Saints and their struggles?

And if you have, and so many of you have done that, if you've

not settled for surface level conversations, if you have

opened up your home and your heart to the Saints of this

Church, you may find that though you have your own problems,

their faith actually brings you comfort in them.

Brothers and sisters, does your faith comfort?

Could it be said of your faith that it lifts hearts in

distress? Could it be said of your faith

that it brings sighs of relief? Could it be said of your faith

that it comforts the afflicted? When your faith grows, comfort

spreads throughout the congregation.

When you stand firm in your faith, hearts are strengthened

throughout the church. When you trust the Lord in the

midst of trials, you remind all of us that God is trustworthy.

Do you see the mutual encouragement at play in Paul's

ministry here? Verse 6.

He longed to see them. They longed to see him.

Verse 7, he's comforted in his distress by their faith in their

distress. Verse 8 especially look there,

he lives if they're standing fast in the Lord.

It's like Paul's saying I'm doing well.

If you're doing well, I can face another day.

If your faith is flourishing. Paul's ministry is a two way St.

His happiness is bound up with theirs and any parent can

understand this. Kids, youth, this is how your

parents feel about you. Maybe you're wondering or even

saying verbally to your parents. Mom and dad, do we really have

to go to church today? Do we really have to study the

Bible together again and sing together and pray together?

Do we really need to? Kids, Your parents care about

your spiritual well-being. They want you to stand fast in

the Lord, to faithfully follow Jesus, to refuse the lies of

Satan and the world and your flesh.

And that's what we all want for you.

We all want you to follow in the faith of your parents.

Parents, what keeps you up at night?

The well-being of your children. What helps you sleep soundly at

night? The well-being of your children.

When Paul heard Timothy's report, you better believe he

slept soundly that night. And brothers in the church, if

you aspire to be an elder. Pastoring is like spiritual

parenting. Paul's already said this in his

ministry. He said his ministry was like a

nursing mother caring for her infant.

He said his ministry was like a faithful father individually

instructing his children. His ministry was one of deep

affection, Paul told the Thessalonians.

You've become very dear to me. So brothers, if you aspire to be

a pastor, know this Parenting is one of the training grounds for

pastoring. If you want a pastor, you need

to love like a parent. Friends, Can you imagine getting

this letter? Seriously, most of us don't

write letters anymore. We send texts, some of us even

e-mail. It is not the same.

When Hannah, my wife and I were dating, we live long distance.

We would write each other letters, long letters, love

letters, effusive with affection.

We've tried to even write our kids letters as they grow up.

We have little journals for them where we write every once in a

while. Hannah often reminds me, it's

been a year, Michael, you need to write in our journal to the

kids. What if you received this

letter? What if our church got this

letter in the mail? What if you got this letter?

How encouraging would that be to your faith?

To have somebody saying this about you and your walk with

Jesus. Paul is gushing with

Thanksgiving about the Thessalonians.

All he could do look at verse 9 was thank God for them.

He's overjoyed to hear about them and how they're doing.

He started this letter by thanking God.

Chapter 1. As you probably know, most of

the epistles start with Thanksgiving.

Few of them have the Thanksgiving leak into the 3rd

chapter. He's so thankful for them.

And after hearing Timothy's report, he has even more reasons

to thank God for them. It's as if he couldn't thank God

enough. It's as if his lips could not

possibly match the joy that's in his heart.

It's as if Paul is swept up in gratitude.

I wonder, when you look around this church, does your heart

overflow with gratitude? Think of the things Paul thanks

God for. Not an increase in church

membership, Not an increase in giving, not even a place to

gather. Though of course we should thank

God for every one of God's gifts.

Paul thanks God for unquantifiable spiritual

realities. He thanks God for their faith

and their love. I hope you see here.

Paul as a mature Christian is easily edified.

Paul as a mature Christian traces his joys back to God in

Thanksgiving. Paul as a mature Christian

edifies others with his Thanksgiving.

Brothers and sisters, do you want to grow in maturity?

Thank God for God's people. Then tell God's people what

you're thankful for and you will grow.

Thank God for God's people today.

Tell God's people today what you're thankful for.

Text someone after the service. Write them an e-mail.

Send them a letter. Even better, thank them in

person for God's grace in their lives.

If you do that, you will blow wind in their sails.

They will soar because of your Thanksgiving to God on their

behalf. Notice in verse 10 how Paul's

Thanksgiving is a product of his prayer.

Paul prayed often for God's people.

How often? Verse 10, night and day.

Paul could not have prayed more often than he was praying.

He says verse 10. He prayed most earnestly.

Paul could not have prayed more earnestly than he was praying.

Paul was pleading with God on their behalf and he pleaded to

God, one, that he would just see them face to face, and 2nd, that

he would supply what's lacking in their faith.

In other words, there was more they needed to learn, there was

more they needed to apply, there was more they needed to grow.

They had gaps in their godliness, holes in their

holiness. In other words, they were just

like us. You know, I reached the colossal

height of 5-10 in the 10th grade.

My dad's 58. My mom is shorter.

I was excited. I even towered over my friends

for a few months, and then I stopped and they kept growing.

I was hoping to get a few more inches, but God is sovereign.

Christians, on the other hand, never stopped growing, and every

Christian in this room has room to grow.

Pastors need to make progress too.

Paul tells that to Timothy in chapter First Timothy 4IN other

words, God can teach old dogs new tricks.

And God so often uses other Christians to teach us through

frequent encouragement, through gentle admonishment, and even

through correction. So brothers and sisters, where

are your gaps? How can you grow?

Who has God sent to help you? Paul prayed for their growth.

Notice here his conversations with them.

There were always 2 levels. There was the horizontal

dimension, and then there was always a vertical 1.

He fueled his ministry to them with prayer.

Brothers and sisters, let your ministry to the church be fueled

by prayer, Prayer, prayer. Lessness reveals pride,

self-reliance, a lack of love. Would you really want pastors

who seldom pray for you kids? Would you want parents who never

pray for you? Elders?

Isn't our job too weighty and us too weak for us not to pray?

Parents, isn't your job too important and your wisdom

lacking for you not to pray members of this church?

Would you want a church filled of people who don't pray for

you? Pray for the members of this

church. Plead with God in prayer.

You may be unable to be physically present with a

suffering St. but you can plead with God in prayer.

You may be worried about your children and what will become of

them. You can plead with God in

prayer. You may be out of wisdom and

advice to give a friend in need. You can plead with God in

prayer. Brothers and sisters, do not

neglect the ministry of prayer. One of my favorite preachers is

Charles Spurgeon. I may be guilty of quoting him

in every sermon I've preached here.

I'm not sure. Spurgeon pastored in London in

the late 19th century. I've actually never heard him

preach. I've only read his sermons

because there's no recordings of his sermons, though there are

rumors that some exist. I would love to hear those.

But even reading Spurgeon, you can understand pretty quickly

why they call him the Prince of Preachers.

The brother could preach Christ. However, when the American

evangelist DL Moody visited Spurgeon's church, he travelled

4000 miles. He said what impressed him most

was not the sermon nor the singing, but Spurgeon's prayer.

I wonder what it would have been like to sit in the Metropolitan

Tabernacle and listen to Spurgeon's pastoral prayer, to

hear Spurgeon approach the throne of God and plead with God

on behalf of his congregation. And what would it have been like

to hear the Apostle Paul pray for his people?

Brothers and sisters, we don't have to wonder.

In verses 11 to 13, we hear Paul's pastoral prayer.

We've heard how Paul prays. Now let's hear Paul pray .1 was

faith that comforts, .2 is friends that pray.

Friends that pray. Listen again to Paul pray

starting in verse 11. Now might may our God and Father

himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you, and may

the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another

and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your

hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the

coming of our Lord Jesus with all His Saints.

What a gift to hear Paul pray and learn from Paul's prayer.

His prayer is simple. It's directed to God, It's

focused on others with spiritual requests and aimed at heaven.

We'll walk through Paul's prayer and then we'll end with three

applications on prayer. Now notice in verse 11, Paul

directs his prayer to God the Father and the Lord Jesus.

As you know, it's blasphemy to pray to anyone other than God,

but it's right worship to pray to Jesus because he is God.

In fact, many prayers in the New Testament are to Jesus.

The New Testament ends with a prayer to Jesus.

Come Lord Jesus. And notice Paul's first

petition. He asked God the Father and the

Lord Jesus to direct his way back to the Thessalonians.

If you look back in chapter 2, verse 18, Paul tried to visit,

but Satan kept setting up these roadblocks.

He couldn't come. So Paul places his longed for

visit in God's hands. In verse 12, we see Paul's

second petition. He focuses on others and he

makes spiritual requests. He asked the Lord to make their

love increase and abound for their own church and beyond.

First for the church, then for the world. 1st that it

increases, then that it overflows.

And remember, life was not easy in Thessalonica.

They were persecuted for their preaching, yet Paul prayed that

they would return hatred with love.

Or as Jesus said, he prayed that they would love one another and

even their enemies. Finally, look at verse 13.

Paul aims his prayer at heaven. What's the purpose of Paul's

prayer? Look at verse 13 so that God may

establish their hearts blameless in holiness when Christ returns.

This is the fourth time in three chapters where Paul brings the

future to bear on the present. He not only cares about their

first year as a church, he also cares about the last day when

they'll stand before their Savior and give an account.

In other words, Paul prays that God would keep working in their

lives until they share in Christ's glory.

He prays for that day when prayer will be no longer needed.

Friends, this is what our lives come down to that day when we'll

stand before the Lord and we'll give an account.

Friend, will your heart be blameless in holiness before the

Lord on the last day? The one who made you is the one

who you will stand before and give an account to.

He made you to trust Him, to believe in Him, to have faith in

Him, to love Him and to love the people He's made to hope in Him,

to Orient and orchestrate your entire life around his purposes

and His goals. But friend, each of us have

walked not with God in faith, we've walked.

In our own wisdom, we've loved what's forbidden.

We've hoped in what is fading, in things like money and

politicians and pleasure. The Bible calls this sin.

Sin is anything that you do that does not result or proceed from

faith in God. Even the good things you do, if

they're not done in faith towards God, they're sin.

And because of this, we deserve justice, wrath, judgment.

That is what awaits every non Christian on the last day.

God's just wrath. And yet the good news that Paul

preached is that God sent his Son Jesus Christ to live

perfectly in holiness, A blameless life on our behalf.

Jesus Christ died on the cross and bore God's wrath himself for

all who would call upon the name of the Lord.

So friend, if that's you, turn from your idols, turn from your

sin, and trust in this Savior. If you call upon the name of the

Lord today, you'll be saved. You can look forward to His

return with joy. Brothers and sisters, what is

our grounds to pray? Is it not the Gospel?

How could we possibly approach the Creator of the universe in

prayer apart from the Gospel? Because of what Jesus has done?

Because God is now our loving Father, because Christ is our

gracious mediator, because the Spirit Himself dwells in us.

On that basis, we can approach the throne of God.

On that basis, we can pray. So how should we pray?

Here's three ways we can apply Paul's prayer to our prayer.

First, pray for God's guidance. Pray for God's guidance.

Verse 11. It's so simple.

Paul found himself in a place where Satan had pinned him.

Satan employed every effort to keep him away.

So what did Paul do? He prayed to the one who is

sovereign over Satan. Think about your own life right

now. Where are you pinned?

Back against the wall? Have nothing else to do?

Do you want to walk in your own wisdom, or do you want God to be

the one to guide you? You've planned your steps.

Pray that the Lord would direct your path, especially when you

face the impossible, when you're out of options, when you're

crushed under your burdens. Prayer places the impossible

into the all powerful hands of God.

Prayer delivers your burdens into God's throne.

Prayer is the best option when you're out of options, when you

pray and when you pray for guidance, you are actually

accessing the infinite storehouse of God's wisdom.

Pray and prepare to be surprised.

Pray for guidance. Second, pray for love to grow

and overflow. Verse 12, That's what Paul prays

for, their love, that it would abound, that it would go beyond

themselves and even to the world.

Pray that for the members of this church.

Pray for husbands. Pray for husbands to

sacrificially love their wives. Pray for wives to joyfully love

their husbands. Pray for families to love one

another. Pray for love that is evident,

obvious, and visible. Pray for those especially that

you find hard to love, and you may find that your love is the

one that seems to grow. Pray for this, husbands.

Husbands, pray for your wives together.

Spend time together in prayer. Bring your burden to the Lord

together. Fathers, pray for your families.

Pray in their presence. Let them hear you.

Pray for them. Wives, pray for your husbands.

When you pray through the membership directory, you might

not even know what to pray for. Pray spiritual requests on

behalf of the congregation. Learn to pray by Scripture.

Learn to pray by Paul's prayers. Learn to pray by the Lord's

Prayer, personalized scripture to your needs.

Learn to pray to our prayer meeting.

Come, come not tonight, come the next week when we bring our

request to God together as a church.

Learn to pray. It's been so enriching to hear

members praying Scripture based on our request back to God.

Learn to pray there. Learn to pray in our services.

Brothers and sisters have edified my heart over and over

again as they've LED us to the Lord in prayer.

And pray for our love as a congregation.

Pray that it would spill out beyond our congregation to this

school, to our neighborhoods, to our workplaces, even to the ends

of the earth. Pray for our love. 3rd And

finally, aim your prayers at heaven.

For Paul, the second coming of Christ was so weighty that it

pulls everything in its direction.

He knows these suffering Saints need a ballast in their storms.

They need wind in their sails so they can reach heaven's shores.

Pray for your brothers and sisters that they will stand

before the Lord proud and unashamed on the last day.

Pray that until Christ returns that they will walk with holy

hearts before their God and their Father.

Pray that their profession of faith would continue in a life

of faith until He comes. Pray for suffering Saints that

they would view every one of their sufferings in light of the

coming glory that awaits them. Aim your prayers at heaven,

brothers and sisters. Jesus is coming back soon.

Glory is coming. So until that day, let's pray

that we'd have faith that comforts and that we'd be

friends that pray. And how will God answer all of

our prayers on that day? He's already told us when we see

Him, we shall be like him, blameless in holiness.

Let's pray. Father, we pray that You would

bring heaven to bear on our hearts, and that by doing so You

would give us great hope in the midst of our trials and our

troubles. Would You grow us in our faith?

Would we have such faith that it would be a comfort to our

brothers and sisters in this church?

Would You increase and abound our love for you, for one

another, for the ends of the earth we pray in Jesus name,

Amen.