Sermon Tone Analysis

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A FATHER'S JOY

*by Ray C. Stedman*

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Real father love is in short supply in our world today.

What we see is a frightening increase of child abuse, of fathers actually attacking their own children.

A simple little song, "Dear Mister Jesus," the tale of a child who remembers the abuse she suffered at her father's hand, is being played on radio stations all over the country.

Some time ago I read the sad story of a four-year-old boy who was beaten to death by his stepfather because he boy had wet his pants.

When his body was dug up, a tiny cross was found clutched in his hand.

It tears one's heart to think of fathers treating their children in that way, but it points up the need we have today for father and mother love.

The passage from First Thessalonians to which we now come is a great testimony to a father's love.

The church, after all, is a family, and God is our great Father.

No aspect of Christian faith warms my heart more than knowing that God is my Father.

I lost my father when I was only ten years old, and I have never known a father other than the Fatherhood of God.

But what a tremendous encouragement it has been to me to know that I have a Father who loves me.

On one occasion when Jesus was informed that his mother and brothers were waiting for him, he said of those he was teaching, "These are my mother and father and brother" {cf, Matt 12:47-49, Mark 3:32-35}, thereby indicating that a spiritual tie is as rich and deep as a physical tie -- and oftentimes more so.

In Verse 17 of Chapter 2, the apostle pours out his father's heart of concern for these new Christians whom he had left in Thessalonica.

*But since we were bereft of you, brethren, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face; because we wanted to come to you -- I, Paul, again and again -- but Satan hindered us.

For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming?

Is it not you?

For you are our glory and joy.

{1 Th 2:17-20 RSV}*

I wonder where the idea ever arose that Paul was stern and cold?

You cannot read this letter without sensing the warmth of his heart and the depth of his love.

At the time he wrote this letter, he was ministering alone in the city of Corinth.

He was feeling the loneliness of that moment.

Being far away from loved ones is a very unpleasant experience.

Forgetting the danger that had driven him from Thessalonica, and the cruelty he had experienced there, he longed to be with them again.

He even tried to go to see them again but was prevented by Satanic interference.

Already in this chapter we have seen three sources of opposition to the apostle:

* Opposition from the state (Verse 2);

* Opposition from society (Verse 14); and here,

* Opposition from Satan.

While this might look like three enemies, it is really only one.

Other Scriptures indicate that the state and society are often the channels of the devil's attempts to hinder the spread of the good Word of God.

This is what Paul was encountering here.

Have you ever experienced a frustrating time in your own life when again and again you tried to do something you knew was right and found it hard going?

You met opposition and hindrance, perhaps even from your own family.

That is Satanic hindrance, the psychological manipulation of minds to arouse opposition and plant obstacles in your path.

When my wife and I were in Northern Ireland a couple of summers ago, we spent some time in a wonderful church there.

The young pastor and his wife were beginning to teach Body Life and Spiritual Warfare.

Where once it had been a lifeless church, now it was alive and growing, filled with young people and young couples.

But while we were there, we learned that the best friend of the pastor and his wife had suddenly turned against them.

He began to spread lies and slanders about them throughout the congregation, upsetting the whole church.

It was for them a terrible time of pain and suffering.

We have learned since that God has cleared it all up.

The pastor has been vindicated and this whole thing has been exposed.

But what caused it?

It was Satanic opposition, the devil with his clever ability to work through people to stir things up.

The Bible is the only book that explains the persistence and malevolence of evil.

Why do we struggle so in this life?

What are we up against?

Jesus told us that it is the devil.

"He is a liar and a murderer" {John 8:44}, said the Lord.

He deceives and he kills.

The Satanic mind is responsible for the murderous violence, the widespread deceit and false philosophies that we are confronted with today.

Paul himself tells us, "We do not wrestle with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers, the world rulers of this present darkness," {cf, Eph 6:12}.

No other book tells you that it is not people who are your problem, but rather the spiritual forces of evil that prevail in the world.

Paul suggests in his writings there are three things we need to know about Satanic opposition:

First, and perhaps most important, it is permitted by God.

The book of Job says that Satan had to come before God and get permission from him to afflict Job's body.

This man lost everything -- his family, home and wealth; and he suffered terribly from boils which covered his whole body.

But God had allowed it.

The end of the book reveals what was accomplished by that suffering, but it was all hidden for the moment from Job's eyes.

So, too, it is hidden from our eyes.

But the Bible reveals there is a malevolent power of evil at work.

There are demonic beings, master manipulators, that are able to lead people about, putting thoughts in their minds and planting obstacles in the path of the gospel.

God permits this for this reason: these things are used by him.

That is the second fact we must remember.

Opposition is his method of training.

Affliction, suffering, pain and heartache are often God's way of getting our attention.

Many of you have gone through that.

You paid little attention to him until you suffered a time of great heartache.

Then you began to hear what he was saying to you.

God uses opposition to train us, and not only that, to give us an opportunity to overcome trouble, to rise above it.

The third thing, as it is made clear in this passage, is, it underscores the value of these believers.

Paul writes in Verse 19, "For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming?

Is it not you?

For you are our glory and joy."

Whatever else those words may mean, they are saying that Paul considered the spiritual maturing of these believers in Thessalonica and other places his most important work.

He is saying, "I have invested my life in you and your growth into mature, whole people.

This is the most important thing in the world.

When the Lord Jesus comes, I will glow with pride that you have achieved the changes in your life that I so long to see brought about."

My wife and I read every morning a fine devotional book which has been assembled from the writings of Dr. J.

I.

Packer.

The other day he quoted a psychologist on the six marks of maturity.

Americans love to take self-examinations, so here is one for you on what it means to be grown up, to be whole, balanced, sane and able to cope with life:

1.

The first mark of maturity is the ability to deal constructively with reality, to face facts, to not cover up reality or call it something else, but to deal with it as it is.

Mature people do not kid themselves.

2.     The second mark is, adapting quickly to change.

We all experience change, whether it be physical, at work, in the family, or whatever.

I am amazed at how much some of you have changed through the years while I remain exactly the same!

Immature people resist change.

It makes them nervous.

But the mark of maturity is to adapt to change because change is inevitable.

3.     The third mark is freedom from the symptoms of tension and anxiety.

The worried look, the frown, the ulcers, the palpitations of the heart -- all come because you are upset, anxious and worried.

Maturing means you have begun to see that God is in control of this world.

He is working out purposes that you do not always understand, but you accept it.

He will take you through the deep water, not drown you in it.

Maturity means you are learning to trust.