Prayers FOR the Church
Prayers for the Churches • Sermon • Submitted
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Having spent the past couple of weeks giving a sort of introduction to the topic of prayer, I would like for us to devote a bit more time to this topic by taking a look at the prayers of the Apostle Paul for three more churches, the churches in Thessalonica, Ephesus and Philippi.
Now, I know that some of you might wonder why we would devote so much time to a study of prayer if it is, as we have stated before, simply communication between ourselves and our Maker.
Well, the point is that in these uncertain times, I am concerned about the church. I am concerned about OUR church, but I am also concerned about the greater church.
Six months ago, could you have imagined sitting in your cars for worship? Or sitting in front of your computer at home and watching this sermon?
Everything is changing. It’s changing for restaurants. it’s changing for big-box retailers. It’s changing for movie theaters. And it’s changing for the church.
How will we be the church going forward? How will we honor the charge of Jesus Christ to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you”?
It pains me to point out that not every church that had a congregation meeting in a building on Sundays in December will still be assembling in August.
Some have already closed their doors. Some simply will not reopen whenever shelter-in-place orders are lifted.
So the question is, what will make the difference between churches that continue to proclaim the gospel of our risen Savior and those whose witness will come to an end?
This is the thing that has been on my mind for much of the past couple of months. This is one of the things I have prayed about for the past couple of months. I hope it is one of the things you have been praying about, as well.
But as we pray for our church — and as we pray for THE church — I want us all to recognize that what we pray FOR the church is just as important as what we pray for ourselves and one another.
And as we consider what to pray for the church, we would do well to look to the Apostle Paul, whose love for the church that was constituted as the body of Christ was, perhaps, exceeded only by Christ’s own love for the church.
So, for the next three or four weeks, this will be our topic: Prayers for the Churches.
As we see how Paul prayed for the church, we will see how WE should pray for it, and I believe we will also gain some insight as to what will set apart those churches that remain after coronavirus has relented from those that no longer exist at that point.
Today, we’ll be taking a look at two prayers for the church at Thessalonica from the book of First Thessalonians.
This is one of those short letters that comes after the long ones to the Corinthians. So — Acts, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and then 1 Thessalonians.
Go ahead and find it, and turn to chapter 3.
While you’re doing so, let me give you some background.
The church at Thessalonica was founded by Paul during his second missionary journey. He spent about 3 weeks there after leaving Philippi.
Thessalonica was a great seaport on the Adriatic Sea. It was a commercial center, and it had a population at the time of about 200,000 people, most of whom were of Greek descent. In fact, the city was located near Mt. Olympus, the home of the Greek gods, so it was a thoroughly pagan place.
But the message of the gospel is a powerful one.
And over the course of the three weeks that Paul was there, he taught in the synagogue about the Messiah who had been sent to redeem mankind from its sins.
He taught about Jesus Christ, the unique and eternal Son of God, who had come to earth as a man to bear the punishment that we all deserve for our sins.
He taught that man’s only hope for being made right with the God who had made mankind in His own image was in the sacrificial death and supernatural resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In short, Paul taught the same things that all followers of Christ at all times and in all places have believed — that only those who follow Jesus in real faith will be saved from eternal damnation.
The message of the gospel is a powerful message.
And we see that power in the fact that in this thoroughly pagan atmosphere, and in the course of just three weeks’ time, a church was born.
And this wasn’t a weak church.
We see in chapter 2 of this letter that Paul commends the church for its steadfast faith in the face of persecution and suffering.
For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews,
But Paul had been forced to leave Thessalonica, and in his absence from that place, I think it is fair to say that he was worried for the church he had planted.
So, we see in verses 5 and 6 of chapter 3 that he sent Timothy to see how they were doing.
For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain. But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you,
Timothy had brought back good news from Thessalonica. The people there were standing firm against temptations, and they were strong in faith and love.
I can tell you that there are no sweeter words to a pastor’s ears than when he hears that his flock is resisting the devil and that they are following the Savior in faith, a faith which demonstrates itself in love.
And we can sense the joy that Paul derives from this good news in verse 7 and 8.
for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith; for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord.
Paul then tells the church that he prays for them earnestly, night and day.
And then, he lifts up a prayer for them right in the midst of this letter.
Let’s pick up in verse 11.
Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.
We see first of all that Paul prays to be brought back to Thessalonica.
A pastor wants to be with his congregation.
This COVID-19 lockdown has been hard on pastors. We have all adapted to the circumstances — many are doing Facebook Live or some other streaming messages on Sundays, and some are doing Zoom conferences at other times of the week to try to keep their congregations connected to one another.
But there’s something important about actually being together as the body of Christ. That’s one reason the deacons of this church and I wanted to have these drive-in services.
Even separated by windshields and metal, we feel more connected here in this parking lot than we ever could feel as we all watched the services separately from our own homes.
So Paul prayed that they could all be reunited.
And then he prayed for two specific things to happen within this church.
First he prayed that Jesus would cause their love to increase and abound.
Now, “love in the New Testament is no mere sentiment, for it involves self-sacrifice. It is not limited to emotion; it expresses itself in energy. It does not evaporate in feeling; it expresses itself in fact.” (Thomas, W. H. Griffith. 1914. The prayers of St. Paul. New York: Scribners. 7)
By asking that their love increase, Paul was asking that they have an ever-growing capacity to love. And by asking that it abound, he was asking that, in its increasing capacity, it would overflow towards others.
This love was first to be demonstrated “for one another.” This came straight from the mouth of Jesus: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another.”
Throughout the New Testament, we see that there is a special bond of brotherly love that Christians are to have for one another. We are all part of the body of Christ, and therefore, we should all be unified in love for one another.
But this love was also to be demonstrated “for all people.,” whether Christians or not.
We have been called to love as Christ loved. And how did he love? He went to the cross and gave Himself as a sacrifice so that He could save even those who crucified Him if they would but follow Him in faith.
You are called to love the unlovable, because, quite frankly, you, too, were unlovable. But Jesus loved you anyway. I was unlovable — some might say I still am — but Jesus loved me anyway.
Christlike love is not given only to those who deserve it. None of us deserves to have been loved to the cross, and yet that’s how much Jesus loves us.
Christlike love is a gift of grace that we give because we know that it is a gift of grace that we have received.
And so, Paul prays that the God will cause love to increase and abound in the Thessalonian church, both for one another and even for the pagans who mocked the church.
The ultimate purpose of this love that he asked God to cause was that the hearts of the Thessalonians would be established “without blame before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.”
A heart that abounds in Christ’s love will abound in love for Christ. And a heart that abounds in love for Christ will abound in love for one another and for all men — “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” And hearts that abound in that kind of love will inevitably be hearts that are holy.
The Jewish concept of the heart made it the center of one’s being. It was the seat of the intellect, the emotions, and the will. When Jewish writers like Paul used this term, they meant to refer to the whole of one’s being. So Paul is praying that this church will be completely established in holiness.
Now, holiness in Scripture refers to separateness, to being set apart for God. This isn’t about purity, although purity should be a result of holiness.
This is about committing yourself completely to God in Christ Jesus.
This is about being a people who recognize that we are, first and foremost, citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, ambassadors for King Jesus, who are called to represent Him in everything that we do, in everything that we say, and in every thought that we think.
This is about being all-in for your Savior; this is about being completely and entirely dedicated to life in Jesus Christ.
So Paul prays here that the church will abound in love so that its heart will be inevitably separated to God and to His Son, Jesus.
Paul picks up on this theme of being separated to God in a second prayer in this letter.
Turn to chapter 5.
Just before he closes the letter, Paul says another prayer for the church at Thessalonica. We’ll pick up at verse 23.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
Notice here that Paul prays for God to sanctify the church entirely.
This word, “sanctify,” is the verb form of the same word that’s translated as “holiness” back in chapter 3. So Paul is asking again here that God make the people to be "consecrated, set apart from all else, for the possession and service of God.” (Thomas, W. H. Griffith. 1914. The prayers of St. Paul. New York: Scribners. 18-19)
As Paul prays for them to be sanctified “entirely,” we see again the idea that their set-apartness should be all-encompassing. This comes right out of the 10 commandments.
"I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me.”
That means God must have first priority in your life. Before your job, before your family, before everything else. Jesus had something to say about this.
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
If you’re making time for God, then you’re doing it all wrong. If you’re making time for prayer, then you’re doing it all wrong. If you’re making time for reading your Bible, then you’re doing it all wrong. If you’re making time to worship, then you’re doing it all wrong.
We’re not called to make time for God. We are called to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Be entirely set apart for His service. Be all in. That is your calling in Jesus Christ.
And it is important to note that Paul prays for God to accomplish this sanctification.
As you draw near to God, He will draw near to you. As you seek Him, He will find you, and He will fill you with the power of the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, you will find the strength to do your part in sanctification.
We skipped over chapter 4 and most of chapter 5, but you should know that Paul spends a large part of that text describing how people who are set apart for God are to behave.
They are to flee from immorality, they are to honor one another, they are to lead quiet lives and mind their own business, they are to work, they are to behave properly, they are to comfort one another, they are to be alert and sober for the return of Jesus Christ, they are to encourage one another and build one another up, they are to appreciate and esteem their spiritual leaders, they are to live in peace with one another, they are to correct those brethren who are sinning, they are to help the weak and be patient with everyone, they are to rejoice always and pray without ceasing and give thanks in every situation.
You see, there is a tension in the matter of sanctification. It is a work of God, but it is also work to which we are to be dedicated.
And as we do that work, we are preserved — we are kept ready for whatever work Jesus has set aside for us.
Paul prays that this church will be preserved complete, in spirit and soul and body. Here, "the spirit is that inmost part of our life which is related to God.” (Thomas, W. H. Griffith. 1914. The prayers of St. Paul. New York: Scribners. 20)
The soul is synonymous here with the heart — that inner part of us that is the seat of our will and our intellect and our emotions.
And the body is the outward part of us, “the vehicle and expression of the soul and spirit through which we are enabled to serve God.”
And so, it is important that Paul ordered spirit, soul, and body the way he did. “If the spirit or deepest part of our nature is wholly surrendered to God, this fact will express itself in every part of our nature and we shall be consecrated wholly,” entirely. (Thomas, W. H. Griffith. 1914. The prayers of St. Paul. New York: Scribners. 20)
Once again, Paul’s point here is that our sanctification — our set-apartness — should be evident in every part of our lives.
It should be evident in our prayer lives and in our workplaces and in our family relationships and in our character and conduct and in our earthly citizenship and in our Facebook posts and in everything.
As Paul notes here, this is the work of God Himself. We must be dedicated to our sanctification, pursuing it out of gratitude and love and in honor of the Christ who loves us and died for us when we were yet sinners.
But it is God — the God of peace — who works within us to set us apart for Himself.
And the connection between holiness and peace is essential. We cannot have holiness without peace.
We cannot be set apart for God in Christ unless we have experienced the reconciliation with God that Jesus offered on the cross.
If you have not followed Jesus Christ in faith that He alone can save you from the just punishment for your sins, then you are still in rebellion against the very King of the Universe. You are still an enemy of the state. You are still at open war with God Himself.
But Jesus came to bring peace. Jesus came as an emissary from the God of Peace, so that through him, mankind might know the peace of God, the faithful one who will bring to pass all that He has promised.
If you have never experienced the peace of God — the absolute comfort and rest in the knowledge that He works all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose — then my prayer for you today is that you will give your heart to Jesus — your spirit, your soul, and your body.
I pray that you will submit yourself to the transformative power of His amazing grace.
And if you are already a follower of Jesus Christ, then I pray, along with Paul, that God will cause your love to increase and abound so that you can be set apart for Him completely and preserved for His work until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is also my prayer for the church, especially during these uncertain times.
Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.