November 30, 2003 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Whenever you go through a death in the family, it is obviously a difficult time. Within the past two weeks I’ve had more emotions run through me than trains at Grand Central Station. But as I look back at the two past weeks, I wouldn’t trade those experiences for the world. The sorrow that my wife and I shared drew us closer together. The responses of love from our friends, families, and this congregation have been overwhelming. People called, sent cards, food, hugs, and most importantly shared their faith with us - and it’s helped - it truly has. I can see how God has blessed us through these trials.
Paul had gone through many trials with the Thessalonians as well. After looking through the first three chapters of Thessalonians, I saw how Paul described several key points in their relationship and history up to that point.
✓ our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. (1:4)
✓ with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition. (2:2)
✓ You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews (2:14)
✓ we were torn away from you for a short time, out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan stopped us. (2:17-18)
✓ We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker a in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. (3:2-3).
✓ Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you. (3:6)
From these points, it is easy to see that Paul and the congregation at Thessalonica had grown together and suffered together. It was this whole relationship that motivated him to say this prayer that he prayed in our text for today.
Paul’s Advent Prayer for the Thessalonians
I. A prayer of thanks
What was Paul’s first reaction and response to Timothy’s report? First of all he was thankful. Thankful that the Thessalonians had responded so well to the message of the Gospel. They very easily could have given up the faith in the face of persecution or gotten angry with Paul for getting them into their mess in the first place. They could have accused Paul of being a chicken or uncaring for not having returned to them in the midst of their trials. Instead, they stuck to the faith and even grew closer to Paul through the trials they were facing. They said that they looked forward to seeing Paul again. They sucked it up and grew stronger in their love instead of fading off. That’s what made Paul so thankful - for the response of love and faith that this young congregation had in the face of adversity and trial.
Every relationship in this world will go through these kinds of times. When a wife goes through a health problem and the husband has to take extra time to nurse her back to health, he has a choice. He can either withdraw and get angry at his wife for being so dependant on him, or he can suck it up and dedicate more time to her. So many times people choose the worse of the two, and problems result. But you can’t imagine how that strengthens a relationship when the one supports the other. In the story of Jonathan and David, Jonathan’s father Saul wanted to kill David. But instead of siding with his father, Jonathan stood up for David and did his best to protect him. This made them closer than brothers so that they had one of the closest relationships ever in the Bible. After Jonathan helped to protect David from getting killed the Bible says, they kissed each other and wept together—but David wept the most. Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the LORD. (1 Sa 20:41-42) The ultimate example, of course, is found in Christ. He saw that we were helplessly drowning in our sins. He saw that we needed help. He could have ignored our situation, because we were getting what we deserved - God’s wrath for rebellion. But instead, he dove down into our world of sin through a filthy sinner’s womb into a cattle stall. He lived in a disgusting world and resisted it’s lure. He allowed that same world to be smeared on His skin, heart and soul at the cross - ultimately drowning in our filth. But it was this love, this compassion, that saved us from being condemned and raised us out of our guilt and shame. Jesus stepped up, and re-established our relationship with God.
Paul’s prayer first of all reflected a thankfulness for the Thessalonians. However, notice who he was thankful to - not the Thessalonians, but to God. He realized that these Thessalonians weren’t the result of his eloquence or his personality, but only the power of God had produced these results. This is a similar response to when the apostles reported to the council in Antioch how things were going on their missionary journeys. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. (Ac 14:27) They were thankful for the work God had done through the Gentiles.
It’s so easy for us to pick out each other’s faults and complain about all of our weaknesses - of which we have many. We act shocked and dismayed when sinners act sinful and say things they shouldn’t be saying. That shouldn’t surprise us. Instead, why not say a prayer of thanks that God has given us so many faithful Christians - that in spite of our sinful natures - God has brought us here today to worship him? Isn’t it a miracle that God could change us from being selfish to even caring about other’s pain and loss? Why not thank God that even one fellow Christian calls us or helps us in time of trial? All of us are here by a miracle of God - and all of us remain here by the work of the Holy Spirit. Instead of being angry with people for not recognizing your works of faith, why not thank God that you can perform them at all? That’s the overall attitude that Paul had throughout this letter. One of thankfulness that God had worked such faithfulness in this congregation.
II. A prayer of opportunity
Even though Paul was thankful for how the Thessalonians had responded, he still had a few requests of the Lord. Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith. Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. Notice what Paul said about the Thessalonians. Their faith was still lacking. Their love for each other still had room for improvement. So Paul prayed for three things.
1. That he could see them again and supply what was lacking in their faith.
2. That God would clear the way to come to them.
3. That the Lord would make their love increase and overflow for each other.
Paul felt that he could play an integral role in the growth of the congregation in Thessalonica. He could see what their weaknesses were and help them to get better at what they were lacking. But again, he wasn’t so arrogant as to think that he could do this by his own determination and hard effort. Time and again he had planned on getting to their congregation - but Satan was holding them back. It didn’t matter how hard he was trying, he wasn’t getting anywhere - because someone more powerful than him was keeping him from succeeding - and that was Satan. But these failures drove home a certain lesson. He couldn’t get anywhere if the Lord didn’t clear the way for him - like a fullback blocking for a halfback right behind him. Also, Paul recognized that just as it was the Lord who brought them to faith and gave them the fruits of faith that they were enjoying, so also it would continue to be a work of the Lord that would help their love to get stronger to the point of overflowing for each other. The idea Paul was getting was that he wanted them to love each other so much that they would have no where left to put their love - that it would just be flowing out of them so much that they would be frustrated because they didn’t have anywhere to put it. This couldn’t happen unless the Lord blessed his message, so Paul prayed for it.
As a pastor - when I read these verse - it makes me realize what an arrogant and ignorant fool I have been. I put hours and hours into writing my sermons. I think about how to write the proper introduction and conclusion. I plan my Bible classes in a way to try and make them as interesting as possible. I plan for Vacation Bible Schools and other outreach events. But I always seem to fail to pray for the Lord’s blessings on my work.
I believe that all of us live in one of the most arrogant ages of all time. We think that a vaccine can keep us from getting sick. (But we get sick anyway.) We plan for retirement, believing that with the right plan we’ll be able to live the last ten to fifteen years in luxury. (Then we die before we even get a chance to retire.) We think that just because we’ve been through confirmation and many Bible classes that we know enough about the Bible - or that we are at a high enough level of good living that we don’t need to improve that much anymore. (But we end up getting angry over the same small things time and time again - with no growth in sanctification.) We hear from many Bible stations that WE have the POWER to do what we put our minds to. We make all these plans - and probably even have good intentions, but in all of these plans and workings to try and get ahead, we fail to pray to the Lord. We fail to recognize the source from which all blessings flow - and that’s God. Yet we expect God to just magically bless what we do because we want what we believe is good and try hard.
Paul recognized it all had to come from God. So he prayed to God for help before he planned or began his work. If we start new projects, begin new jobs, and plan new ministries without praying to God for his blessings, how can we expect to really get anywhere? Are we really so arrogant as to think that just because we do what God wants that he has to bless it - that it has to succeed? It doesn’t, and it probably won’t, if we don’t ask for the opportunities and blessings from God for our efforts.
III. A prayer of purpose
I wonder if some of the members of St. Paul’s in Thessalonica accused him of being overzealous? I wonder if some of them thought, “lighten up, Paul! Don’t worry about us - we’ll be fine!” The picture I get of Paul from this letter to the Thessalonians is one who was always on the go - always eager to teach - always on the edge - concerned about each and every congregation. He wouldn’t rest, couldn’t quit, until he was sure that each and every one of them were even stronger in the faith and more zealous than him. Paul was a perfectionist. You can see this in the final part of his prayer for today. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy.
Paul didn’t want the Thessalonians just to be new and improved, or good enough to get by, he wanted them to have such strong hearts that they would ultimately be HOLY and BLAMELESS. What does that mean - to have a strong heart? Ezekiel predicted, I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. (Eze 11:19) David wrote, The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Ps 51:17) It seems strange that in God’s sight a strong heart is one that is weak, broken, and made of flesh. Why is that so “strong” to God? What does that mean? Look at what broken hearts do in our world. People often look for love when they are “on the rebound” or recovering from a lost relationship. It’s at that period of weakness, that they want to know that they are lovable - that they can be loved. So when we approach God with a broken heart - a fleshly heart - one that is contrite and sorrowful, God is then able to make it strong. He shows us the manger and says, “this is how much I loved you - enough to become one of you and live your life for you!” He shows us the cross and says, “this is how much I loved you! Enough to send my only Son to die for you!” He shows us the empty grave and says, “this is how much I loved you! Enough to allow myself to be buried - only to raise from the dead and leave your sins in the grave.” It’s this love that strengthens our hearts. Joshua 5 says -
when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until we had crossed over, their hearts melted and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.
A “melted heart” often came in the Scriptures when people realized that God was against them. So a strong heart would have to be the opposite of this - believing that the Lord is on your side - that He is fighting for you and not against you.
That’s what Paul wanted for the Thessalonians - what he prayed for. That’s what Paul wants for you as well. He doesn’t want scared Christians - fearful of God’s wrath at every corner. He doesn’t want us cowering at the wrath of God and doing things only out of fear of God’s punishment. He wants confident Christians - ones who know that God loves them. He wants you to confidently say, “I am holy in God’s sight. Jesus Christ has made me blameless - because he lived and died for me. If I were to die tonight, I know I would go to heaven.” This confidence - this strong heart - can only come from the Lord.
Why was this so important to Paul? So that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. This prayer was made with his sight on the advent of Christ. One day each and every one of us will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. You need to know your Savior to be ready for that Day. It won’t do to only be “good” on Judgment Day - you’ll have to be perfect. Therefore, you need to know what makes you holy and blameless - the righteousness of Christ. That’s why it’s one of the first readings we have this Advent. He wanted his people to be ready for the coming of Christ - to look forward to it. So he prayed that God would bless his efforts to come to the Thessalonians and give them the strength they needed for this coming.
When a team wins the Super Bowl, they are given the Vince Lombardi trophy, in honor of him. Vince Lombardi is known as one of the greatest coaches of all time.Lombardi was known as a great motivator - a perfectionist. One of the things he said to his team during training camp was, “the harder you work, the harder it is to surrender. If you quit now, during these workouts, you’ll quit in the middle of the season, during a game. Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit. We don’t want anyone here who’ll quit. We want 100 percent out of every individual, and if you don’t want to give it, get out. Just get up and get out, right now.” (Instant Replay: 26-27: Kramer) He understood that his players needed to be ready to work and train hard in order to achieve the goal - and as a coach - he drove them to achieve the prize.
Paul wanted his congregation to win the prize. He trained them with the Word of God. He gave his all - even working so as not to be a burden on the Thessalonians. They were running a good race - and their faith was being reported throughout the world. But their work wasn’t done yet. He didn’t want them to quit in the middle of the season - not until Jesus Christ came. Ultimately, he realized that the success of their team didn’t depend on their determination or their hard work or his training, but on the work of God. So he prayed, and he taught, and he prayed some more. Every day that we live, we are growing closer to the end of the season. Jesus Christ could come every day. Now is not the time to quit your growing. Now is not the time to assume you are strong enough. The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender. But just as we aren’t perfect without the work of Jesus Christ, so we won’t remain strong without the work of the Holy Spirit. The prayer of Paul reveals this. It was an integral part of his training of his congregation. It is an integral part of our survival and our strength as Christians. So keep in the Word. Keep on listening. Then, when Jesus Christ comes, through faith in Christ, you will receive something much greater than the Lombardi Trophy. You will receive the crown of life. Amen.
