WHEN YOU WISH
1 THESSALONIANS 3:11-13
INTRODUCTION: What we come to in this passage is the close of a very personal section by the Apostle Paul. These final verses contain a wish. A wish of Paul’s for himself and for the church. We might be able to say that this is Paul’s wish for OUR church! This wish of Paul is an amplification of verse 10:
1 Thessalonians 3:10 (NIV)
10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.
1 Thessalonians 3:10 (MSG)
10 We do what we can, praying away, night and day, asking for the bonus of seeing your faces again and doing what we can to help when your faith falters.
And since this is a wish expressed to God, Paul’s wish is at the same time a prayer.
I WISH FOR MORE FELLOWSHIP
A WHAT FELLOWSHIP INVOLVES
1 Just as in prayer, the object of fellowship is God.
a We need to stop thinking of fellowship in terms of other people
b We need to stop thinking of fellowship in terms of other activities (like eating)
2 We need to start thinking of fellowship in terms of coming together for God
a God is concerned about EVERY aspect of our lives (even eating)
b We need to understand that the first and foremost reason to fellowship is because God enjoys and encourages our company with Him and our interaction with each other.
Psalms 133:1-3 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! 2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes. 3 It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.
Romans 15:5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus,
Ephesians 4:1-3 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Colossians 3:12-14 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.
3 Fellowship may include a meal but fellowship is not fellowship unless it involves
a God as the objective of fellowship
b Activity as the means of achieving fellowship
c Believers as the catalyst for fellowship
B WHAT BLOCKS THE WAY TO FELLOWSHIP
1 I bring this up because Paul asks for God and Jesus to “clear the way” or “direct” us
a The word means to guide in the right direction
b The word means to remove hindrances
c The word means to arraign in a line
WHY DOES GOD HAVE TO DO THAT?
2 Things get in the way of fellowship
a God must direct us because we will get lost
b God must clear the path because we will need help finding it
c God must remove the hindrances because it is easy to miss
d God has to line us up because it is easy to mistake something else for fellowship! “Hey, I thought this was a FELLOWSHIP meal!”
FELLOWSHIP IS NOT WHAT WE DO TOGETHER AS BELIEVERS, BUT WHAT WE DO TOGETHER AS BELIEVERS WITH GOD AS THE OBJECT.
We have to work at fellowship. We have to find the God in our fellowship or we are just having an activity.
IT is so easy to confuse activities with fellowship. So, let me ask you, “What activity will we be doing as a church that we can classify as fellowship?” Trunk N’ Treat Why, because God is the object of the activity involving believers!
If I want to fellowship with God here is, …
What I must determine to do, …. Make God the priority of my Fellowship.
II WISH FOR GREATER LOVE
A LOVE IS NEVER STAGNANT
1 Two words are used to describe the type of love Paul wished for
a Increase – which means to multiply of abound
b Overflow – to excel or well up to overflowing. Word used to describe the baskets of bread and fish for the feeding of the five thousand
2 Our love for God directed towards others is to be a love that multiplies and overflows, not adds and trickles!
B LOVE HAS RIPPLES – effort and effect
1 The effort of love is that it reaches out to everyone, even the unattractive.
2 The effect of love is that it is the one thing that cannot be carried to excess!
a We can never love enough
b The effect of love is not just to the church, but beyond the church
Conditional love is not biblical love
I will love you IF you, …………… is a conditional love
I will love you despite is an unconditional love
LOVE WITHOUT THE HELP OF GOD IS LOVE TAINTED BY MY OWN SINFUL NATURE AND FINITE PREFERENCES!
What I must determine to do, … Seek the help of God in my Loving.
III WISH FOR A CLOSER LIFE
A A CLOSER WALK STARTS WITH A STRONG HEART
1 The word for strengthen means to support or confirm
2 A strong heart is a heart confirmed towards God – a heart sold out for God
Luke 9:51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
Luke 9:51 (MSG)When it came close to the time for his Ascension, he gathered up his courage and steeled himself for the journey to Jerusalem.
LET ME ASK YOU TODAY, HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE A SOLD OUT HEART FOR GOD?
How many of us here today have a heart fixed on what Jesus wants and not what we want?
How many can say today, “My heart is where God wants my heart to be focused on Him!”
3 If we do not have a strong heart we will not be able to walk very far with God
a The Bible tells us in Gen 3:8 that when God visited Adam and Eve in the garden, He came walking.
b After man sinned, God threw him out of the garden and didn’t walk with him any more
B A CLOSER WALK STROLLS IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD
1 You know what it is like to take a stroll
2 It is a leisurely walk. It is a walk without a care. It is a walk without looking back.
3 A stroll is a walk without guilt.
4 Paul uses the word blameless. He says that when we are walking in God’s presence, we will be blameless.
a Being blameless is not being sinless. Only Jesus was sinless!
b Walking close to God does not involve sinless walking but blameless walking
c Blameless walking is when I walk in such a way that I have dealt with my sin.
d If we do not deal with our sin, we cannot walk blamelessly with God.
1 We have got to be grateful for the blood
2 We have got to be sorry for our sin
3 The only way we walk with out blame is if we make sure that we deal with our sin
John 13:5-10 (NIV) 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" 7 Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." 8 "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." 9 "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" 10 Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you."
John 13:5-10 (MSG) 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. 6 When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, "Master, you wash my feet?" 7 Jesus answered, "You don’t understand now what I’m doing, but it will be clear enough to you later." 8 Peter persisted, "You’re not going to wash my feet—ever!" Jesus said, "If I don’t wash you, you can’t be part of what I’m doing." 9 "Master!" said Peter. "Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!" 10 Jesus said, "If you’ve had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you’re clean from head to toe. My concern, you understand, is holiness, not hygiene. So now you’re clean. But not every one of you."
Jesus was telling Peter the equivalent of leave your shoes at the door so you do not track dirt in on the carpet!
Walking blamelessly with God is not tracking dirt into HIS house!
Oh, by the way, “Where is God’s house?” or try this, … “Where does God reside?”
C A CLOSER WALK IS ACHIEVED WHEN JESUS COMES
1 Paul simply closes this section by telling us that there will come a time when we will fellowship fully, love completely, and walk closely.
2 That time is when Jesus comes for us!
Until them in order to walk closely with God, …
What I must determine to do, … Accept God’s strength for my heart
So today, Paul wishes you to fellowship, love and walk in a way honoring to God.
It one thing to want to do it, and quite another to actually do it. Will you be a wanter or a doer?
