1 Thessalonians Ch3v1-10 - Looks Like Love: Brothers And Sisters In Christ

The psalm says you get to hear from me again, so we're going to read from 1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3.

If you have your church Bibles, it's on page 1187.

If you bring your own Bible, you're familiar, and you'll find 1 Thessalonians in the New

Testament.

So we're going to read from 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 in verses 1 to 10.

1 Thessalonians 3 · chapter mention

Page 1187.

1 Thessalonians 3 and verse 1.

So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens.

We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God's service in spreading the gospel of

Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith so that no one would be unsettled

by these trials.

For you know quite well that we are destined for them.

In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted.

And it turned out that way, as you well know.

For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith.

I was afraid that in some way the tempter had tempted you and that our labors might have

been in vain.

But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought us good news about your faith

and love.

He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us

just as we also long to see you.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution, we were encouraged about

you because of your faith.

For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord.

How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our

God because of you?

Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking

in your faith.

Amen.

Thanks, Lord.

Thanks a million, Ralph.

Good morning, everybody.

Why don't we pray just to start?

Lord, I need your help.

We all need your help this morning.

Amen.

To hear what your word has to say to us as a church family.

Give us a vision of how glorious Jesus is.

And show us the privilege that it is to help and strengthen one another in our faith.

In Jesus' name we pray this.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, to start, I want to ask you a very profound question.

One which philosophers throughout the centuries have wrestled with.

Here it is.

How are you doing?

How are you doing?

Okay.

Every time I go up to Calum and ask him, how are you doing?

He answers me, Asher, you know yourself.

Now, of course, I don't know how Calum is doing.

I can't read his mind.

So I say, how are you really doing, Calum?

And then he'll tell me something.

But if you were to ask me that question this morning, how are you doing?

I'd probably say something along the lines of, you know, how my weekend is going.

Been a busy week with work.

I'm tired.

Something I'm looking forward to.

Maybe the rugby later on.

Okay.

But in essence, I'm going to tell you about me.

My health.

My job.

My weekend.

But the interesting thing is this.

If you were to meet Paul, the apostle, the writer of this letter, on the streets of Corinth 2,000 years ago,

and if you were to say, Paul, how are you doing?

You'd get a very surprising answer.

Because in this text, we see that Paul cannot separate his own well-being from that of his brothers and sisters in Christ.

His answer would show that he is only doing as well as his church family is doing.

If they suffer, he hurts.

If they stray from the Lord, he fears for them.

If they make progress, he rejoices.

Now, for people like us in an individualistic society, that kind of love and care is just odd.

Right?

It's a little bit over the top.

You know?

Surely God doesn't want us to love each other that much.

And that's why we really need to hear this text this morning.

Because when you trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord, you don't just get forgiveness, the gift of the Holy Spirit, eternity in heaven.

And these are all wonderful benefits.

But actually, what you get is Christ himself.

And along with him, all of those who have also put their faith in Christ.

You get a family.

And in this passage, Paul actually shows us what it looks like to love our family in Christ.

And where we get the power to do that.

He's going to show us what an awesome privilege it is to help one another on the journey with Christ through this world.

It's not a chore.

It's a privilege.

So we need to pay attention.

Two simple things we're going to see today are that love cares deeply.

That's like the feeling of love.

And secondly, love acts sacrificially.

That's what love does.

Okay, so firstly, love cares deeply.

Here are a few things that we should feel in our relationships with one another.

And the first one is a longing to be together.

Now, here's the context of this letter of Thessalonians.

Paul and Silas had traveled to Thessalonica and many people had believed in Christ.

But, as many of you know, after only three weeks, they had to flee the town because a mob broke out against them.

Now, here's the thing.

Did Paul just move on to the next church planting project and slowly forget about the believers back in Thessalonica?

In some ways, no one would blame him.

He was so busy.

But look back at chapter 2, verse 17.

And halfway down through that verse, it actually says, Paul says,

Out of our intense longing, we made every effort to see you.

And then look down at chapter 3, verse 5.

He says,

So a love that cares deeply is a love which longs to be with your family in Christ.

To do life with them.

And not just having a polite chat on a Sunday morning and saying,

I'll be praying for you this week.

That's good, but Paul demonstrates a whole life approach here.

Which says,

I long to do life alongside you.

How does that compare to your attitude and mine?

Do we seek out opportunities to walk alongside each other in life?

Or is it just a Sunday thing?

Or a Wednesday thing?

Longing to be together is one sign of a love that cares deeply.

Here's the second.

Fearing for their spiritual well-being.

Does it ever frighten you?

That your brother or sister could be in danger from walking away from Jesus?

Look at what Paul says in verse 5.

Halfway down through the verse, he says,

I was afraid that in some way,

the tempter, Satan,

had tempted you.

And that our labors might have been in vain.

See there,

Paul's first concern was not their health or finances or physical safety.

He was afraid they were drift away from the beauty and eternal safety of Christ.

That's the worst thing that could possibly happen to them.

And Paul was gripped with fear that it would.

And that's real love.

You don't really love someone

if you're not afraid for them when they're in danger.

This might be a silly example,

but imagine if your friend started chatting online to someone every day.

And next thing they say,

oh, my online friend has asked me to meet up in town at the weekend.

I think I'm going to go.

I'm looking forward to it.

What would you say?

Would you not tell them?

You feared for their safety

if you were a good friend to them?

I remember when I was a teenager.

You know when you're a teenager,

you go through all these sorts of phases?

Maybe you still do when you're an adult.

But anyway,

one of these phases as a teenager,

I got into this kind of dark rock music.

I was a Christian at the time,

but I had this older, wiser Christian friend.

His name was Jono.

And he cared about me.

He cared about my walk with Jesus.

But in my enthusiasm about this music,

I sent it on to Jono,

and I was like,

Jono, you've got to listen to this.

This is class.

And he got back to me a few days later

by email,

and he said,

Sam,

this music isn't good for your heart.

He said,

I'm worried

if you get deeper and deeper into this music,

it'll slowly lead you away from Jesus.

And I was miffed.

I did not like him saying that.

How dare he criticize my taste in music?

And I was so excited to tell him.

But it planted the seed in my mind.

And within a few weeks,

I had actually seen that what Jono said was right.

I had replaced it with music

that actually helped me

to grow closer to Jesus.

It was good for my heart.

And you know what?

Reflecting on that,

Jono actually cared enough for me

to worry about my spiritual health

because he saw there was danger.

He cared enough to have that awkward conversation as well.

And just thinking about each other,

right,

I think we can tend to miss

the spiritual dangers in each other's lives.

Or if we see them,

we don't want to have that awkward conversation.

Because in Ireland,

we don't really, you know,

confront each other on those things.

Well, actually,

that's not living in accord

with what God's word tells us to do.

Your brothers and sisters sitting around you

are engaged in a spiritual battle.

And Satan is trying to pull us

as far away as possible from Jesus.

Paul knew for the Thessalonians,

Satan was going to try and use persecution

to try and tempt them away.

It's not worth it.

It's not worth the following Jesus.

For us,

it might be some relational suffering

or some illness

that's just not going away

and Satan is tempting us.

He's telling us,

God isn't good.

He's not strong enough.

For others of us,

it's success and health

and everything just going really well.

And Satan's telling us,

you don't need God.

Oh, you're fine on your own.

Why do you need a savior?

All of us are engaged

in a spiritual battle.

Let's not be naive.

The question is this.

Do we ever fear

that our brothers and sisters

might give in to those lies?

Paul shows us

that if we care deeply enough,

we will.

Number one,

we're going to long

to be with them

and number two,

we will fear

for their spiritual well-being

when we see

that they are

in spiritual danger.

But here's the bit

that really blew me away

when I read this text first.

And I don't know,

when Ralph was reading it out,

did you notice this also?

Because Paul is telling us

what happened.

You see,

he sent Timothy out

to the church in Thessalonica

to see how they were doing,

to find out.

And then Timothy comes back

with a good report

of their faith.

And look at the effect

this has on Paul

in verse 8.

I love this.

He says this.

For now we really live,

since you are standing firm

in the Lord.

Now we really live.

Is that not extraordinary?

Paul is claiming that

when he didn't know

if his brothers and sisters

were still walking

with the Lord,

he was only half alive.

The not knowing

was killing him.

That is next level love.

How can we care

like that?

Enough that we could

genuinely say,

I'm only doing as well

as my brothers and sisters

are doing.

Back in 2010,

a mining accident

rocked the globe.

I think most of you

were alive at that point

and might be able

to remember it.

33 men

had driven down

into this copper mine

in Chile

when the mountain

caved in behind them.

I want you to imagine

that your brother

was trapped in the mine

and your family

are all there, right?

Huddled together

by that mine shaft

as the rescue teams

are working around you.

I just want to ask,

what are you feeling

as two,

three days pass?

Five,

six days,

still no news.

Ten,

eleven days,

still nothing

from the drilling.

Fifteen,

sixteen days,

you're beginning

to lose hope.

now,

if a news reporter

came over to you

and asked you

that profound question

again,

how are you doing?

What would you say?

You might be

perfectly healthy.

You might have

a nice house

and a good job

and everything else

going well,

but none of that

would matter

in that moment,

would it?

you would say,

I'm in agony

because my brother

is down there

and I don't know

if he's safe

or not.

You see,

in that moment,

you're only doing

as well as your brother

is doing.

nothing else matters

if they aren't safe

and that's a picture

of how Paul feels

about his family

in Christ.

That's how we should

feel about ours too.

He was in agony

over them,

not knowing

if they were safe

in Christ

and then when he hears

the good news

that they are safe,

what does he say?

He says,

now we really live

and in his very

next breath,

in verse 9.

Just look at that.

He says,

how can we thank

God enough for you

in return

for all the joy

we have

in the presence

of our God

because of you?

Again,

we often think

love for each other

means a pleasant chat

on a Sunday morning

and I'll be praying

for you during the week.

That's great.

We should do that.

But if that's all

we're doing,

we're falling so,

so short

of God's vision

for us

as a church family.

Paul shows us

a whole life

model of care.

We need to grow in this.

Yes,

we should be all

over the practical needs

when someone's sick

or lonely

or needing help,

but the most important

thing we will care about

is this.

Brother,

sister,

are you walking

with the Lord?

Lord,

what is more important

than that?

what else

is going to last

forever?

That's real love

for your brothers

and sisters.

Love that cares deeply.

Now,

maybe you,

like me,

are sitting there

and thinking,

do you know what?

It doesn't really

match up with my life

so well.

Maybe you're convicted,

like I am,

that you fall short

of this.

And I think it's natural

in some ways

because our sinful hearts

generally tend

to put ourselves first,

right?

How do we grow

these sort of

affections of love

for one another

in the church family?

Well,

the answer is

in verse 12.

If you have a look

down at that,

chapter 3,

verse 12,

and Paul prays

for his brothers

and sisters

and he says this,

may the Lord

make your love

increase

and overflow

for each other

and for everyone else

just as ours

does for you.

I am so thankful

God inspired Paul

to put that prayer there

because it's

only the Lord

who can make

our love

increase

and overflow

for each other.

That's the key.

This is not

a try-harder

situation.

This is a

lean-closer-into-Jesus

thing.

The only person

who ever

perfectly lived this out.

Now remember,

it is only Jesus.

We look at Paul here

and say,

this is amazing.

Just remember

Paul's past.

His life mission

originally was

picking off the Christians

one by one.

He was out

to get them.

Then he met Jesus

and his heart

got transformed

completely.

And so also,

we look to Jesus.

It's actually

through our union

with Jesus

that we begin

to care

like he does.

and if Christ's

spirit lives

in us,

the closer

we walk

with him,

the more

the fruits

of that spirit

will grow

naturally.

And he gives us

new desires

to actually

want to love

like this,

to see it as

something we get

to do,

not a chore

to take off.

We begin to see

how privileged

we are

to invest

in what's going

to last forever,

that is,

one another.

So that's

the first point.

Love cares

deeply.

And walking

closer with Jesus,

we begin to feel

that kind of

love for each

other.

But we don't

just see how

love feels

in this text,

we also see

how love

acts

sacrificially.

And Paul

shows us

some of these

actions that

naturally flow

out of that

heart of love.

And we're

going to go

through three

of them

really quick.

It says,

the first one's

found in verse

two.

If you look

there,

Paul says

that he sent

Timothy to

strengthen

and encourage

them in

their faith.

Now,

if God

gives you

a heart

to care

for your

brothers and

sisters,

you will

begin to

move towards

them in

love.

And you

will ask,

how can I

encourage my

brother or

sister to

walk with

the Lord?

During the

week,

as you pray

for them,

you might

ask,

what's a

verse that

the Lord's

put in my

heart to

share with

them?

Maybe that

might mean

texting and

asking if we

can meet

up for

lunch or

for coffee.

How can

I be an

encouragement

to you?

In verse

three, we

find the

reason why

Paul sent

Timothy to

strengthen their

faith.

Verse three

says,

so that no

one would

be unsettled

by these

trials,

for you

know quite

well that

we are

destined for

them.

Trials are

coming in

each other's

lives.

That's why we

need to

strengthen each

other.

Really simple.

And when we

do strengthen

each other,

when those

trials come,

we will be

able to

stand firm

in Jesus.

Here's the

second way

that love

acts

sacrificially.

In verse

five, we

read how

Paul sent

Timothy to

inquire about

the church's

faith.

So when we

reach out to

encourage someone

in their faith,

that's not just a

once-off thing.

Take that off

the list.

Now this kind

of deep love

makes us want

to keep

reaching out

to hear how

they are doing

in their faith.

And Paul says

why we should

do that in

verse five.

He says,

because Satan

is going to

tempt.

We've

already talked

about that

this morning,

how we are

all engaged

in a spiritual

battle.

And if we

do nothing

to help

each other,

Satan will

try and

tempt us

away.

So don't

just ask

about someone's

health,

or their

job,

or their

school.

That's good.

But also ask

them, how are

those things

affecting your

faith?

How are you

meeting the

Lord in

those contexts?

Or ask, how

is your

Bible reading

going?

Do you

get time to

pray during

your day?

And if

someone asks

you those

questions,

that's not

them being

nosy.

That's them

actually caring

for you

enough to

support you

against Satan's

attacks.

Here's a third

thing.

one more

act of love,

and we do

need to be

careful how we

interpret this

one.

Have a look

at it in

verse 10.

Paul says,

night and

day, we

pray most

earnestly that

we may see

you again,

and supply

what is

lacking in

your faith.

Now, what

does this

mean?

Is Paul

saying that

their saving

faith in

Christ is

incomplete?

Well, no.

We know that

because he's

already addressed

them in this

letter as

those who

are loved

by God

and chosen

by him.

So, let's

just get this

clear.

If your

faith is in

Christ alone,

that is all

you need to

be safe in

him.

Okay?

It's not the

size of your

faith that

matters.

it's who

your faith

is placed

in.

But Paul

is making

a point

here that

these believers

in Christ

have their

weaknesses.

And in the

rest of this

letter, he's

actually going

to address

these head

on, from

sexual sin

to idleness

to taking

revenge.

And we all

know the

areas in our

lives, too,

where we

struggle.

Right?

We struggle

with sin.

We struggle

with suffering

and sadness.

We struggle

to be

faithful to

God.

Now, that

doesn't mean

we're outside

of Christ

because we

struggle.

No, the

very fact that

we're not

okay with

our sin

shows the

new heart

we have

in Christ.

But what

God is

calling us

to do

is to

supply what

is lacking

in each

other's

faith.

so, for

instance,

my experience

in dealing

with anger

might help

somebody else

in the church

family who's

struggling with

that now,

too.

Your experience

in dealing

with jealousy

might help

someone like

me who's

dealing with

that.

Your experience

in fighting

lust might

help someone

else in the

middle of that

battle.

can you

see how

we can

support one

another and

supply what

is lacking

in each

other's

faith?

We just

need to be

honest and

open about

our own

struggles

and unafraid

to ask

others about

theirs,

too.

What a

privilege it

is to

supply what

is lacking

in each

other's

faith.

love.

It's

God's

beautiful

design for

love in

the church.

But as

we finish,

I want to

bring you

back to

that mining

accident in

Chile.

For 16

days, the

rescue teams

drilled and

drilled without

success.

But on

the 17th

day, they

found a

note stuck

onto one

of the

drill bits

with insulating

tape.

after pulling

it back up

700 meters

out of the

mountain.

And here's

the actual

note on

the screen.

Now, this

is the part

where me,

as someone

who has

never studied

Spanish,

need someone

to help

me to

read this.

Is there

anyone here

who...

Go on,

Katrina.

going to

go on,

going to

go on,

Katrina.

We're going to

go on,

Katrina.

We're going to

go on,

Katrina.

We're going to

go on,

Katrina.

Well done.

That matches

with my

little English

translation I

have here.

All 33 of

us are

fighting the

shelter.

Well done,

Katrina.

Monica was

my next

bet there to

help me out.

But yeah,

what an

incredible note

to receive.

On the

17th day,

the crowds

erupted

into shouts

of joy,

all on

national television,

all screens

throughout the

world.

Everyone was

overwhelmed

with relief.

Knowing that

their loved

ones were

safe meant

the families

could really

live again.

Now,

it took

52 days

to execute

the rescue

mission.

So they

had to

bore this

new tunnel

right down

to where

the miners

were.

But after

digging that

new tunnel,

all 33

of the

miners were

lifted to

safety to

meet their

families.

Now,

can you

imagine what

that hug

felt like?

Welcoming

back your

brother,

having wondered

would he

ever make

it?

Imagine

the joy

of that

reunion.

I wish

I was

there to

see it,

don't you?

But do you

know what the

wonderful thing

is?

That

reunion is

just a

foretaste

of a far

greater

reunion to

come.

One day,

we who have

trusted in

Christ will

witness the

completion of

a far

surpassing

rescue

mission.

there is

a day

coming when

we will

be delivered

out of

this world

of sin

into the

glorious

light of

God's new

heavens and

earth.

All our

sin,

sadness,

and suffering

behind us.

And all

that will

fill our

minds in

that moment

will be

wonder and

praise for

the Father's

plan and

the Son's

sacrifice which

saved us.

and as we

gaze upon

his beauty

and glory,

we will

know in

an instant

this is

what I

was made

for.

To be

with Christ

forever.

But then

we will

notice

people

standing

around us

in spotless

robes

whom God

is also

rescued.

And I

do believe

we will

see and

recognize

each other

there.

What a

reunion that

is going

to be.

We are

going to

run into

each other's

arms.

We will

laugh.

Tears of

joy will

stream down

our cheeks.

We will

sing for

joy to

our Savior

together.

We will

look in

each other's

eyes and

know that

every act

of love

was worth

it just

to see

you here.

And if

God had

us to

play some

small part

in helping

each other

on the

journey,

we will

say what

a privilege

that was.

One I

never

deserved.

we will

know in

that moment

what truly

mattered on

our lives

back on

earth.

Now it

wasn't how

much money

we had.

It wasn't

where we

lived or

where we

traveled or

what job

we had or

anything like

that.

All that

will matter

is how

we loved

God and

loved his

people.

that's it.

That's all

that's going

to last

forever.

Can you

get a vision

of that day

in the future?

Can you

see it?

Let it

motivate you

for the

days that

we have

left here.

We don't

know how

many we

have.

But we

do know

that Jesus

frees us

from living

for ourselves

and he

gives us

the desire

and the

power to

love one

another

deeply,

to help

each other

on the

journey with

Christ.

May the

Lord fill

us with

that vision

of the day

we will

meet around

the throne

in heaven.

And may

the Lord

captivate our

hearts with

the privilege

and joy

that it

is to

strengthen

and encourage

one another

along the

journey.

Let's

bow our

heads in

prayer.

In the

silence let's

bring our

own confession

to God.

Maybe you're

convicted about

your lack

of love.

Maybe you

see all

this as a

chore,

not a

privilege.

Let's

ask God

to help

us to

love like

he does.

to help

us to

love like

he does.

Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 2.19,

he says,

What is our hope,

our joy,

or the crown in which we will glory

in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes?

Is it not you?

Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

Lord, forgive us.

Fill us with power now

to love one another like this.

Change us.

Let us not go home thinking we've got to try harder.

Let us go home leaning closer into Jesus,

the one who truly loved us

and showed up by giving up his life for us on the cross.

Help us, Lord, to love as he did.

I pray that out of this today

that there will be an outpouring of love

towards one another in this church family.

And give us the heart to do that.

May actions flow out of that heart

for one another.

For your glory and for our good, we pray.

Amen.

If the musicians could come up,

we're going to sing one last song.

And it's a song called

Beneath the Cross of Jesus.

And it's an opportunity for us

to remember what Jesus did at the cross

to rescue us.

And think about the family that he's brought us into.

So,

let's stand together as we sing this.

Thank you.

I think about the sons of Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.

Please remain standing for a moment.

And thank you all for being here today.

And we're going to continue our time together over tea and coffee.

I think I saw cake, actually, when I was out there earlier.

That's good, too.

We've been thinking about what it means to love one another deeply and from the heart.

How to strengthen one another in our faith.

So let's take that opportunity, start doing that now over tea and coffee,

to ask about each other's faith and see how we could be a real encouragement

to one another today and during the week as well.

We're going to pray the prayer which was at the end of the passage today.

And it's on the screen here.

So could we all pray it together out loud?

Let's do that.

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else,

just as ours does for you.

May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy

in the presence of our God and Father

when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

Amen.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.