Strengthened and Encouraged in the Faith

If anybody would like a pen to take notes, if you've got paper with you, thanks Yelena.

Yelena has some pens there, so they'll be passed round.

So we're reading from 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, it's on page 1187, as we continue on our

1 Thessalonians 2 · chapter mention

series through this book.

And I'll read it and then invite Alex up and I'll pray for him and we can hear God's

words.

So let's read together then.

1 Thessalonians chapter 2, starting at verse 17, on page 1187.

1 Thessalonians 2 · chapter mention

Let's hear God's word to us.

But brothers and sisters, when we were torn away from you for a short time, in person,

not in thought, out of our intense longing, we made every effort to see you.

For we wanted to come to you.

Certainly I, Paul, did again and again, but Satan stopped us.

For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our

Lord Jesus Christ when he comes?

Is it not you?

Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

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 God's fellow worker, in spreading the gospel of Christ

to strengthen and encourage you in your faith so that no one would be unsettled by these trials.

You know quite well that we were 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 might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.

Alex, I don't think you need an introduction, so I'm just going to pray for you.

Let's pray.

Our Father God, we thank you again for the opportunity to hear your word.

Thank you for those who you have gifted and enabled to speak it.

We pray for Alex now that he might know the strengthening of your Holy Spirit.

We pray that you would help him to communicate clearly and that he would be resting in you.

And we pray for ourselves that we would be hearing what you are saying,

being changed, being transformed, and ultimately being encouraged and strengthened.

We pray this in Jesus' name for his glory.

Amen.

Thanks, Johnny.

Well, it's still good morning, so good morning, everyone.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

and Dad. Well, my first term in college, this says dear Mum and Dad, well my first term

of college has gone fairly well. Life up here in the city is a bit different from home,

but I'm adjusting well and settling in now. The course itself is so different from the

Leaving Cert, but at least it's what I want to be studying, I think. Although I do hope

it'll get a bit more practical next year. There's a good hockey club up here, and I

have made one of the teams, and so I'm making friends through that and getting exercise

other than the five-mile cycle commute every day. We won our first few league matches earlier

in the season, but we've started to drag our heels a bit now. I think the social aspect

is affecting some of the performances. Well, that's the news for now. I hope you're

all well at home and the cat hasn't eaten the dog yet. I'll be back for Christmas in

a couple of weeks after these exams. Much love, your son.

That's a standard letter home from college. A child touching base with his parents after

leaving the big bad world of third-level education, where we learn more than just our course material.

There's nothing standoutish about this letter. The boy is alive. He's adjusting to the faster pace

of life. Study is okay. He's socializing a bit. Although we're not 100% sure how involved he is in the

socializing that is affecting the hockey team's performances. And he's getting exercise. So as parents,

are we glad to get this letter? Or email? Yes, we are. But there's still so much that's unknown.

We don't know if he's eating properly, sleeping properly, making all his lectures, managing his

finances properly. And if we are Christians today, if we are followers of the Lord Jesus,

then we would also like to hear that he is doing well in his faith. That he has found a good Bible

teaching church to go to. That he has met other believers on campus, and he is praying for

opportunities to share his faith with his classmates, housemates, and teammates. We would want to know that

when faced with the busyness of life in the city, the distractions and temptations of university life,

and the freedom of living away from his parents, that he would still love the Lord. Pursue him,

and grow in the faith, in his faith in the Lord Jesus. There is a PS, but that'll come at the end

of the letter, as all good letters do. So today our passage is 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 17

1 Thessalonians 2:17

through to chapter 3 verse 5. If you want to keep your finger in that, we'll be referring to it a lot.

And Paul here is writing to his dear friends, who he loves.

He is pained to be separated from them. We know this because he talks about it, being torn from them,

and his intense longing to see them there in 17 and 18.

This pain, however, is not so much for their welfare, and him wanting their company. No.

He wants, verse 2 of chapter 3, he wants to strengthen and encourage them in their faith.

And that's what we're going to be spending this morning looking at. Strengthening and encouraging

them in their faith. This is Paul's desire for the church in Thessalonica, and I believe that that is

his desire for this church in Cargilline too. That we would be strengthened and encouraged in the faith.

Why? Well, he goes on to explain. So that no one would be unsettled by these trials.

And later on we'll be looking a little bit more at those trials.

But imagine back to the letter for a second. If there had been no letter home by the student

having just left for the big city. There was no homing pigeon sent with news. There was no herald

ordered to announce his news of survival. A parent would be concerned to hear from him

and how he was getting on. And back in the time of Paul's writing it was no different.

Paul had had to leave Thessalonica unwillingly, and so now at the time of writing he hasn't heard

from them and is concerned. Such is his concern that he is prepared to send Timothy to find out

how they are and to strengthen and encourage them in their faith.

He commends Timothy in his introduction as our brother and God's fellow worker in spreading

the gospel of Christ. Timothy was only a young fellow at the time, so he may not have been

taken seriously when he arrived there on his own. So perhaps this was Paul's way of breaking down

any barriers there might have been so that the believers there would accept Timothy. But what a

commendation he sends Timothy off with. God's fellow worker. Timothy is working with God to spread the

gospel of Christ, which means both initial evangelism and also the nurture of the church.

So we're going to look at those two things now. Evangelism. It's the introducing people to the

person of Christ, telling them why he came, died and rose again from the dead. And the reason Timothy

is sent to continue the work started by Paul of introducing people to Christ. Carraghlein,

our estate, Heronswood, Cork, the workplace, the world. We all need to hear this good news too,

that Jesus Christ entered the world to offer us forgiveness from our rebellion against God and to

offer us hope for today and for the forever future. We all need to hear this every day. Let's remind

ourselves, each other, our families about this every day. We need to hear that good news daily.

And Timothy was also sent to nurture. The Oxford English Dictionary describes nurture as

to care for and protect someone or something while they are growing. And this is also why Timothy was sent,

to help grow in knowledge and love of Christ. These young Christians in Thessalonica were in danger of

the tempter. We hear about the tempter there in verse 5.

So these young Christians in Thessalonica were in danger of the tempter leading them astray.

They were also young in their faith, so they needed to be cared for and protected.

As a parent will anticipate the dangers that threaten their child, so too Paul anticipates the

dangers lying ahead for his children in Thessalonica and sends Timothy to protect them.

How does he do this? With the gospel. By encouraging them in their faith, he is discipling them,

speaking the truth into their lives so that the tempter wouldn't deceive them with false promises

of an easy life. This is absolutely key to this letter because Paul is getting to the very heart of

the church. He doesn't say, oh, I heard you need a new praise time leader, or the rota has a few gaps in it,

or you need help with the kids and the youth program. So I'm sending Timothy to help out a bit. Slot him in

wherever you think is helpful. No, he is sending Timothy whose key purpose in life is all about spreading the

gospel of Christ. To strengthen and encourage them and us in their faith. That's where Paul's priorities

are for this church in Thessalonica, and I believe here in Cargilline too. Their faith and making it work

out practically and encouraging them in it. Why is Paul so concerned about their faith? Have they not

already heard the gospel of Christ? Been told of their need of a savior? Been encouraged to live a

repentant life? Yes, they have. But faith is not a one-off. It's not a decision you make once and then

carry on your life unaffected, but safely knowing that you will go to heaven when you die. He tells us

in verse 3 of chapter 3, so that no one would be unsettled by these trials.

We heard last week from Tom when he was speaking about these trials that they faced. And we know

too from our own life's experiences that trials do come. To both believers and those who don't believe,

life is hard. So trials are not a surprise. And Paul continues in verse 4 by saying that he had told

them to expect to suffer and even to suffer for their faith. I'm sure Paul had often thought it would be

much easier not to follow Christ, to go along with the crowd and live an easy, stress-free life as a tent maker.

Especially when he remembers back to his time before he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, which we learn

about in Acts 9 when he used to viciously persecute Christians himself. That was a much better life.

Life as a Christian is not easy. We always seem to be rowing against the tide or fighting an uphill battle.

And that is why Paul is so concerned for these Christians in Thessalonica,

because he knows how real the tempter is and how good he is at manipulating us into giving up

or rebelling against God's rule.

Paul loves these believers like a parent.

And so nothing is more important to him than their following Christ.

And he wants to do everything that he can to ensure that they are not blown off course

by the tempter, by Satan.

Satan has already thwarted Paul's own plans to go and visit them.

Chapter 2, verse 18 says,

For we wanted to come to you. Certainly I, Paul, did again and again.

But Satan stopped us.

So, here we have an illustration.

Here we have two big bookends.

Both being satanic opposition.

They nearly look satanic if you look at them closely.

But they are satanic opposition.

In verse 18, Satan is preventing Paul from visiting the church.

And in verses 3 and 4, Satan is trying to cast doubts in the minds of the Christians,

to unsettle them.

Satan's biggest weapon is to prevent the spreading of the gospel of Christ.

So it shouldn't be a surprise to Paul or to us

when trials or opposition or persecution comes.

It stands to reason, therefore,

that the best way to thwart Satan's plans

is the spread of the gospel.

And so...

And so...

In between these two bookends of opposition

is the good news.

The gospel.

Brought by Timothy.

Sent by Paul.

To strengthen and encourage the Thessalonians

in their faith.

Here in Carragalline, or even in Ireland,

as a church, we are very unlikely to face vicious persecution

like our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world.

However, Satan is still at work.

Casting doubts in our mind about God's sovereignty.

Causing us to think about giving up on faith.

Or even just causing us to be so comfortable in our life

that we start to think our lives are pretty good without God.

And there's no need to change anything.

Or let God disrupt our comfort.

So how can you be a Timothy?

How can I be a Timothy?

If Satan is still at work,

how can we strengthen and encourage each other?

Well, how does Timothy do it to the Thessalonians?

Verse 2.

He shares the gospel of Christ.

So, when we meet for coffee during the week,

we should be speaking of the good news of the forgiveness of sins.

The freedom that life in Christ gives us.

When we meet up during the week for a one-to-one Bible study,

and I encourage us all to do that if we can.

Or when we meet at Polo,

we should study the Bible.

Letting it mould and shape us.

We should be praying its truths into each other's lives.

Challenging each other as to how we read it

is affecting us in our lives.

The more we hear of the gospel,

the more we start to think it

and let it affect how we think,

how we make decisions,

how we react to situations.

We should be making these times a priority in our week

so that we can strengthen and encourage each other

in the faith

and therefore be strengthened and encouraged ourselves.

Maybe you feel more like a Thessalonian

and you need encouragement.

I think we all are.

When we meet at Growth Group,

there is a great opportunity

to share with each other

how we are really doing.

Where we can be vulnerable with each other

and say how we struggle

and pray for each other through those struggles.

When we chat over coffee,

at half time during our Sunday morning service,

do we really need to find out

the score in the football match the night before?

Or how long the kids slept for last night?

Yes, it's important to share life with each other,

even the small details.

But when else is there an opportunity

during the week to ask,

how is your faith?

How are you doing with God these days?

Johnny's always encouraging us

on a Sunday morning

to make the most of that time in our service.

And here we see the Bible saying the same thing.

Paul's deepest desire

was for the spiritual welfare of these believers.

So much so that he sent his right-hand man, Timothy,

with the express purpose

to strengthen and encourage them.

When I was thinking this through in my own life,

I was really challenged and rebuked

that I don't feel this way.

I said goodbye to the Crusader kids back in May,

and to be honest,

I haven't given much thought

to their faith since.

I'm delighted to talk to many of you

on a Sunday morning,

but once Monday morning comes,

I go into autopilot again,

thinking about my work

and my little life.

Is my or our deepest desire

for the faith of others?

Do we love to hear

how each other is really doing?

Every time research

seems to be carried out

and people are asked

towards the end of their lives,

what do you regret most in life?

Nobody ever says

they wish they had spent more time working.

Nearly everyone says

they wish they had spent more time

with their family.

It seems to be that our kids

and our relationships

with people

are the things that give us

most pleasure and pride.

And so it is here with Paul

and the Thessalonians.

What an endorsement he gives them.

Verse 19.

For 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 our joy.

You can see the pride

that parents feel

when their child

takes their first step

or says their first word.

And that's how Paul feels

about this church.

He is so pleased

to have met them,

to have taught them,

and seen them come to faith,

to know

and to love them.

Paul can almost imagine himself

before the Lord

bringing the church with him

as proof that he has been faithful

in his calling as a missionary.

His children or converts,

those he introduced to Christ,

were the source of his joy.

Not because of anything

Paul had done himself,

but because of what Christ

had done in the lives

of these people.

Paul pictures himself

with the Thessalonians

on the final day of judgment,

being presented to the Lord Jesus,

and he desperately wants them

to grow

and to be encouraged

and comforted

in their difficult walk

with the Lord

so that they will be with him

on that day.

Do we have

that same desperation?

Are we eager

to see each other,

the crusader kids

that we know,

our friends,

our neighbours,

being presented

before Christ

when he comes again,

standing beside us?

Do we love each other enough

to call each other

our crowning glory?

As I was thinking

through this

during the week,

I was struck

by how often

we talk about

how being a Christian

is all about

a personal relationship

with Jesus,

or the lovely romantic notion

that if I was stranded

on a desert island,

all I would need

is the Bible

and Jesus and I

would be happy

on our own forever.

Well, to be honest,

that sounds quite miserable

to me.

I'm not good

in my own company.

Chris left

last week

for a couple of days

and it was a great opportunity

to spend time

preparing this,

but to be honest,

it was miserable.

I'm not good

in my own company.

I need you.

I need Christ

working in my life

through you,

the church.

I know I am weak

and likely

to be tempted

by a seemingly

easier life

and without you,

then I would fail

and I suspect

that I'm not alone

in that feeling.

It is through the church

and the gospel

that God works

in my life,

strengthening

and encouraging me

in my faith.

I love that

on a Thursday night

I can go out

and I can get

a kicking in my shins

from the same people

who comfort

and pray for me

the night before

in growth group.

P.S.

Mum and Dad,

I can't believe

I almost forgot.

In Freshers Week

I joined the hockey club,

the skiing club,

the friends of

Star Wars Society,

they call themselves

the Jedi Sock,

and the Christian Union.

I am weakly

hearing the Bible

taught with passion.

I am making friends

with these people

and I think these

are going to be

friendships for life.

Some of them

go to a church

which is really close

to where I'm living

so we go there

and hang out

on a Sunday afternoon.

No longer

am I the little guy

who had to quietly

read his Bible

in the toilets

of boarding school.

Here I have people

to read it with

and study it with

out in the open.

The Christian Union

is helped by

a society called

IFES Ireland

and they have

a catchphrase

people not projects.

It puts our focus

on each other,

our relationship

with Christ

and takes the focus

off projects.

I think that's

a good motto

for the life

of the church too

because without

people loving each other

as Christ loves

the church

then no project

we take on

can succeed.

So mum and dad

life is good

at the moment

but I know

that when it gets tough

these same people

will still be there

encouraging me

and reminding me

of the risen Lord

Jesus who loves me.

That letter

although written

last week

as I prepared this

could have been

written 14 years ago

when I started

college

in Dublin.

I was a baby

Christian

although I had been

a believer

for a few years

at that stage

and going to the

big city

I could have

easily fallen

into the traps

and pitfalls

of student life.

Thankfully

I got involved

in the Christian

Union

I got involved

in a small group

with five lads

and we met

weekly to study

the Bible.

Four of us

are still great friends

and are still

walking with the Lord

and one sadly

was caught

by the tempter

and is following

the way of the world.

But we met

regularly

and study

the Bible

and encourage

each other

in our faith.

That continues

today

when we see

each other

but it has

to be intentional.

It's not natural

to go up to someone

and ask them

how their faith is

or how are you

doing with God

these days.

It doesn't flow

easily

but it is

so important

that that is

why Timothy

was sent

by Paul.

As I finish

it's helpful

to recap first

and then

to look forward.

As a church

we need to be

strengthening

and encouraging

each other

in our faith

at every opportunity.

If we don't

the tempter

will deceive us

and coax us

away from

the Lord Jesus.

We strengthen

and encourage

each other

with

the gospel.

Reminding ourselves

that without Christ

we are without

hope

and that with

him

we are

promised life

and fullness

of life.

So if you ask

me

how my faith

is

or how am I

doing with God

these days

maybe you'll

ask me later

or maybe you'll

ask the person

sitting beside you

or maybe you'll

ask your spouse

or your friend

when you see them.

But from this

passage

faith is described

as an awareness

of the pitfalls

Satan puts

in our way

but the resolve

to spread

the gospel

of Christ

to ourselves

to strengthen

each other

and encourage

each other

so that we

would all

be presented

together

before Christ

when he

comes again.

That

would be

our crowning

glory.

That

would be

our legacy.

Let's pray.

Father God

thank you

that you

loved us

enough

to send

Jesus

to comfort

us

and to

strengthen

us.

Thanks too

for each

other

for this

church

for the

love and

concern

that there

is in

this

church

for each

other.

Please help

us to do

this more

to be

intentional

in our

conversations

encouraging

each other

and strengthening

each other

in our

faith.

Please help

us to be

always pointing

each other

towards the

gospel that

saves us.

Thank you

for your

spirit that

is with us

to help us

do these

things which

can sometimes

feel alien.

And please

help us

to as we

leave here

today to

have a

desire to

stand with

each other

on that

final day

presenting

each other

to you

as your

children.

In

Jesus name.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.