He is Coming! 1 Thessalonians 3
Matt Redstone
He Is Coming: A Study of Thessalonions • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 24:49
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· 26 viewsAs we dive into chapter 3, Paul continues to praise the Thessalonians' faith, and begins to transition to a new focus.
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Intro
letter from the Apostle Paul to a young church
Encourage them through persecution
Remind them of the hope of Christ’s return
Chapter 3 picks up where 2 left off
transitions into a new focus in chapter 4
Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone,
and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith,
Establishing Timothy
Paul goes to Athens
wants to know how the church is doing
sends Timothy
young and inexperienced
Paul identifies him as equal to Paul in authority
World sees young; Paul sees potential
Who is someone that is young, that you can draw out their potential?
Continuing with verse 3
that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this.
For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know.
For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.
Strength in Persecution
Timothy is sent to ensure no one is moved
Greek word relates to the wagging of a tail
hardship can cause someone who is unsettled in faith to lose heart
Paul also speaks of someone being tempted
it isn’t always persecution that causes drifting; it can also be falttery
Both are schemes of the devil
The second is the most dangerous in our society
flattery leads to us getting dooped into a a feel good gospel
it all begins with the lie, “Did God really say?”
If we don’t know the true answer to that question, soon a lie replaces the truth, and we begin to take heart in a line of reasoning that is no longer biblical
So what did Paul discover from Timothy?
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?
Timothy’s Report
Timothy returns to Paul with a good report
Despite Paul’s concern, the church is strong
Persecution has not caused them to lose heart
What kind of report would you receive?
a believer you haven’t seen in a while meets up with you
they begin checking in on your relationship with Christ and your involvement in church
would they walk away seeing growth, would they see decline, or maybe you’ve simply become stagnant
now we will all have seasons of all three, but do we recognize them when they happen and do we course correct?
how self aware about your spiritual health are you?
how sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s prompting are you to get you out of your ruts?
The chapter ends with this prayer from Paul for the church
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.
Paul’s Prayer for the Church
Paul prays of the 3 things for the church
that God would direct their ways
that they would increase and abound in love for each other and for all
that God would establish their hearts blameless in holiness
blameless at Christ’s return
last week we talked about that day when we stand before Christ and offer the thing we will be most proud of, the thing we accomplished for him
this week is a slightly different angle
what is the thing we are going to try to hide?
If we are active in repentance and living a spirit led life, there won’t be anything to hide. We can stand with our head held high
but if we tolerate sin in our life, and we entertain those things that are contrary to Christ’s teaching, we are going to stand before Christ and hope he doesn’t find out
Of course, most of us know we can’t hide anything from Christ, but sometimes we live like we’re going to get away with something
which brings us to Communion
Communion
Communion
Paul wrote to the Corinthians that we could take Communion in an unworthy manner
we need to examine ourselves so that we avoid judgment
so just before we partake in communion, let us take a moment and allow the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts and let us repent from any unworthy thing
don’t try to hide anything. If we are willing to let it all go, we will experience the freedom and joy that is available for all who call Jesus Lord and Savior
Jesus took the bread
Jesus took the cup
Let’s Pray