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1 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Then second, youll see this if you look at verses 9 and 10. Paul tells
us that he wants us to grow in faith. You will see in verse 10
particularly hell talk about what's lacking in the Thessalonians faith
and that he wants to come to them in order to supply what is lacking
in their faith. And of course, Paul means especially by that teaching
them the Word of God because it's the truth that supplies what is
lacking in our faith. And so Paul wants to instruct them in the Word of
God so that their faith will grow.
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.
Amen, and thus ends this reading of God's holy, inspired and
inerrant Word. May He write its eternal truth upon all our hearts.
It's been twenty years this year since my father died and I think
about him almost every day.
And one of the things that my family enjoyed most, I think, about
conversation with my dad was the superlatives that he would use
often associated with good food. If we had a particularly good meal
we were likely going to hear superlatives from my dad. If we were at
The Trawler in Charleston, South Carolina we were likely to hear
these words, I believe that that was the best she-crab soup I have
ever had in my entire life! Or if we were in Kelly's in Blacksburg and
we had just had a delicious steak we were likely to hear, I don't
believe I have ever put a better piece of meat in my mouth in my
entire life! Or if we were at Jack ODell's Midway BBQ and yes,
Midway was midway between Union and Santuck, South Carolina.
Santuck named because the sand almost tucked it away before the
kudzu was planted. And Jack ODell's Midway BBQ had sawdust on
the floors and those white and red checked tablecloths that were
kind of plasticy on the top because of all the spilled barbeque sauce
and man, it had some great Union County hash there and if we were
at Jack ODell's Midway BBQ we were likely to hear, You know, I
don't believe I have ever had better hash in my entire life! We loved
hearing Daddy's superlatives when we had a good meal. Well, the
apostle Paul is using some overpowering superlatives in this
passage. Did you catch it?
Verse 6 - look at the first line reads almost like, you know, he's
been writing you from chapter 2 verse 17 all the way to chapter 3
verse 5 about how worried he is about the Thessalonians. He's
worried that the slanderers are getting to them. He's worried that the
persecution is getting to them. He's worried that they may be
wavering in the faith. He's anxious to be with them so that he can
encourage them and suddenly it's almost like Timothy comes in the
door in the middle of him writing verse 5 and getting to verse 6 and
says, Paul, good news. Theyre all trusting in Christ. Theyre
standing firm in the Word. Theyre walking in the faith. And there's
this gigantic sigh of relief that you can hear all across two thousand
years and how ever many miles that it is from Thessalonica to
Jackson. You can almost hear it in verse 6 But now that Timothy
has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your
faith and love - and can I just pause right there and say, Did you
hear what Paul just said? Paul called Timothy's report to him from
the Thessalonians saying that they were doing well spiritually, saying
that they were continuing on with the Lord, saying that they were
established in faith and love, he calls it good news.
Now I think I'm right in saying this is the only time that Paul calls
anything that is not the announcement of God's Gospel the good
news. Do you see the kind of extravagant language that Paul is
using? He is so concerned about the Thessalonians that when he
gets a good report that theyre doing well spiritually he calls it gospel.
He says, Timothy brought me gospel. He brought me good news
about your faith and love. Now he's not saying that Timothy came
and preached him a good Gospel sermon; he's saying that Timothy
came and gave a good spiritual report about the Thessalonians that
he uses the word that he uses everywhere else to talk about the
Gospel. It's superlative language. You can see here that Paul has
been so deeply concerned about the Thessalonians that he is
incredibly relieved. In fact, hell use the language in verse 9 -of joy,
we feel joy for your sake before our God. So Paul is relieved and
he's thankful and he's joyful and he's using superlative language.
Look at the next sentence that he utters. Look at verse 8. For now
we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord. Now that if isn't meant
to put any question mark on how the Thessalonians are doing. It's
meant to emphasize that what makes Paul be able to say, I can live
again, is the report that the Thessalonians are standing firm in the
faith. Now that's extravagant language. Men, you know that kind of
language. You used it when you met some girl who rocked your right
brain hard however many years ago. Yeah, you remember?
Remember writing her notes and saying, You make me live. I'm
alive for the first time in my life. That's the kind of language, but
Paul's not using this about a girlfriend or a wife. This isn't even the
language of a pastor saying, Boy, I kind of feel like my ministry's not
a failure now because youre doing well in the Lord. It's not even that
kind of relief. There's no indication here that Paul worries about the
success of his ministry. This language is much more like a father
talking about his children doing spiritually well.
Parents, do you understand that? Those of you who have kids who
are out of the home now, you ever seen your adult children and their
making some decisions that are not good and youre at that
relationship now where there's only so much you can say and do and
you just hold your breath and you say, Lord, all those prayers that I
prayed, all that teaching that I did, all preaching they heard, all the
example that I shared, Lord, just use that. And when they come
through those trying times you go, Yes, I can live again. My children
are standing firm in Christ. Theyre growing in faith and love. That's
exactly the experience that Paul is having and that's why you get all
these superlatives in this passage. In other words, Paul is saying that
he can live again because he has heard of the Thessalonians faith
and love.
Look specifically at verse 6 again. Timothy has brought us the good
news of your faith and love. Then verse 8 - Now we live for you are
standing fast in the Lord. That superlative language is that Paul is
so thankful that the most important things are in place in their life.
Notice it's not that the Thessalonians aren't experiencing hard times
because, in fact, theyre being persecuted. He's not, Whew! Now I
can live again because youre not going through hard times. It's that,
Now I can live again because youre standing firm in Christ. Youre
growing in faith and love. And now here's an application, fathers.
You know, as fathers and mothers you want your children to marry a
nice person, be a good husband and wife, have a nice life, no major
illnesses, no big problems, have a good job, be respected in the
community. All of those things are good things, but far more
important than that is that they stand firm in Christ and that they
grow in faith and love.
At the door after the early service a young man came and met me.
He's a PhD student in engineering. He's been married for ten years.
Three years into his marriage he and his wife were just not, they
were not going to make it and he was reading a book by John
McArthur and he came to faith in Christ. Their marriage was hanging
by a thread and God turned it all around by bringing him to faith in
Christ and then leading them into a Bible believing church where
they heard the Gospel preached every week and the Bible faithfully
taught and they began to work through their issues in marriage and
then they had a child who was just diagnosed with autism. Now, no
parent would say, Okay, it will be good for you to struggle in your
marriage and have a child with autism. You just - that's not what
youd be wishing for your child. But you know what? That young man
is preaching the Gospel at a rescue mission in downtown
Birmingham every week and he wants to be a church planter and he
wants to be involved in the work of the kingdom. He's standing firm
in the faith. He's growing in faith and love through all of those
circumstances.
Dads, is that what you pray for your sons and for your daughters that
theyd stand firm in Christ, that theyd grow in faith and love, not just
that circumstances would be easy? And you know, we can all want
the circumstances to be the best for you, but that no matter what the
circumstances are, youre standing firm in Christ and youre growing
in faith and love. Are those the kinds of spiritual desires that we have
for our children, not just that theyd be accepted and prominent and
have a great job and an easy marriage and all of those things, that
theyd be firm in Christ, growing in faith and love? Well, here Paul,
you see, what's he relieved about?
He's relieved, he's thankful, he's joyful, he's overwhelmed that the
Thessalonians are manifesting faith and love.
And I love what John Calvin says about those two words. In faith
and love, Calvin says, Paul gives a brief summary of all godliness.
All godliness can be summed up in faith and love; believing God's
promises and His Word, trusting in Jesus as He is offered in the
gospel - faith, love, loving God, loving one another, loving our
neighbors. He just sums up the whole of the Christian life faith
and love. Theyre living the Christian life. Theyre believing God's
promises; theyre believing His Word; theyre trusting in Christ as
He's offered in the Gospel; theyre loving God; theyre loving one
another; theyre loving their neighbor; theyre loving all in this
passage.
Notice how it says not only are they loving one another, but all. Look
at verse 12. Abound in love for one another and for all. And Paul
says theyre doing well. And he's thankful and he uses this
extravagant language. Doesn't that teach us that one thing we want
to aspire to if we want to stand fast in the Christian life, if we want to
live life in light of Jesus return the way Christians ought to? How do
we do that? By being established in faith and love; by growing in faith
and in love. That sums it all up, doesn't it?
Here's the second thing I want you to see. Look at verses 9 and 10.
Paul, having given thanksgiving for their faith and for their love goes
on to say, What thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all
the joy that we feel for your sake before God, we pray most earnestly
night and day that we may see you face to face? Why? And supply
what is lacking in your faith. Now, what's that about? Well Paul had
only been able to be with them and teach them for a few weeks and
then he had to go away and he wants to come back to supply what is
lacking in their faith. How's he going to do that? By teaching them
the Word of God. That's how he's going to supply what's lacking in
their faith. He can't create faith; he can't grow faith. Only the Holy
Spirit can do that. But how does faith grow? Faith comes by hearing
what? The Word of God.
And Paul tells you that, doesn't he, in 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 5.
Take a look at it. Paul says, The goal of our instruction, 1 Timothy
chapter 1 verse 5, The goal of our instruction is love from a pure
heart and a good conscience and sincere faith. In other words, his
aim, he's received a charge from Jesus to do Gospel ministry. His
aim in that ministry, the goal in his teaching and in his instruction is
that there would be disciples who love. They love God, they love one
another, they love their neighbor from a pure heart, a good
conscience and a sincere faith. And so his teaching is going to be
designed to what? To grow them in love. So when he says he want
to come and supply what is lacking in your faith, what he is saying is
he wants their faith to be grown by truth, the truth of the Word. He
wants to come supply them what is lacking by teaching the truth of
the Word.
And by the way did you notice how Paul mentions that in verse 13?
That He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our
God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus.
He's still thinking about the coming of our Lord Jesus. How do you
live life in light of Jesus return? You long for godliness, you pursue
love, you grow in faith and in love. That's how you stand fast in
Christ, in faith and in love. And don't you love the combination of
that? You know, if you look out in the church today and there are
people that are strong in love and weak in faith, strong in faith and
weak in love and here's Paul saying, No. Those things go together.
Increasing in faith and love, faith and love are there. It's what we
want to be. That's the kind of congregation we want to be. May the
Lord bless His Word.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, work Your truth into our lives so that we love from
pure hearts, good consciences and sincere faith. In Jesus' name,
amen.
Well, in this passage it's very evident that Paul loves the church.
Let's sing about that love using number 353, I Love Thy Kingdom
Lord.
Receive God's blessing. Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.