His Return

Perseverance As The Pressures Mount

11.13.22 [2nd Thess. 1:3-12] River of Life (23rd Sunday after Pentecost)

(Ps. 33:20-22) Lord, we wait patiently in hope for you. You are our help and our shield. In you our hearts rejoice, for we trust your holy name. May your unfailing love strengthen and renew us for the days ahead. Amen.

Get your kicks on Route 66. Just about everyone loves the idea of a road trip. Getting out of town and seeing places you don’t normally see. Traveling this beautiful country and taking in the sights & flavors.

Just about everyone enjoys the idea of a long family road trip. Until the rubber meets the road. Planning and packing. Gassing up the car and filling up the cooler. But the stress doesn’t melt away the moment you pull out of the driveway. Because it is the rare road trip that goes according to plan. It’s unlikely that you don’t encounter an unforeseen issue or two.

During a long road trip, two questions pop up more than anything else. Are we there yet? and Is there another way? The first question gets asked for two very different reasons: excitement or boredom. The second question gets forced upon travelers. When there is heavy traffic, an accident, road construction, or inclement weather, the driver and/or the navigator riding shotgun looks for alternate routes. On any long road trip, even with the advantages of navigational apps on our phones, more than likely, these two questions are going to be asked.

But those questions aren’t only asked on long road trips. In fact, the believers in Thessalonika were struggling with those two questions. They had learned the good news of Jesus as their Lord and Savior from Paul, Silas, and Timothy. They rejoiced to learn that Jesus had (Rom. 5:8) died for their sins, (Rom. 4:25) been raised to life for their justification, and had ascended into heaven where he was (Jn. 14:3) preparing a place for them. In fact, they were so eager for his return, that some were concerned that they were going to miss it. (1 Th. 4:13-18) Some feared that those who died before Jesus’ return might miss out on eternal life in heaven. (2 Th. 3:6-12) Others were so eager for Jesus to come back that they stopped working all together. So Paul wrote two letters to these Christians, in part, to address the Thessalonians Are we there yet? questions. Paul assured them, the Last Day would come soon. It would surprise everyone, but no one would miss it.

The second question: Is there another way? is what Paul addresses in the verses we are considering, today. They had faced many struggles and hardship in being believers in Thessalonika.

The Thessalonians church had gone through a baptism by fire. Paul, as was his habit, began teaching at the Thessalonian synagogue. He demonstrated from the Old Testament that Jesus was the Messiah that God had long promised and that he (Acts 17:3) had to suffer and rise from the dead. Some the Jews heard this Word and believed Jesus was God’s Messiah. (Acts 17:4) A large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women in the city did as well.

The unbelieving Jews grew jealous. (Acts 17:5) So they rounded up some bad characters, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. They claimed that Paul was causing (Acts 17:6-7) trouble all over the world and defying the Roman Caesar by claiming that Jesus is King.

So three or four weeks into learning that Jesus was their Savior, Jason and other believers were dragged before city officials and accused of treason. In order to avoid jail time, they had to post bond—place their own money and property on the line to guarantee there wouldn’t be any treasonous activities. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, right? It’s hard to imagine that things got better for the believers from there.

This kind of thing is what Paul had in mind when he wrote (2 Th. 1:4) We boast about your perseverance & your faith in all the persecutions & trials you are enduring. At the same time, Paul recognized they weren’t out of the woods yet. They were facing troubles, even now. So he wrote to encourage them as they wait patiently & live perseveringly.

Today, our troubles don’t really compare to the Thessalonians. We are not called to post bond because of our faith. But we need this coaxing, too. Because, far too often, in our journey heavenward, we struggle with those two questions: Are we there yet? and Is there another way?

We struggle to wait patiently for Jesus’ return. Truth be told, we struggle to wait patiently for much of anything. We don’t see the value. We don’t understand why it is necessary. We want God to answer our prayers now. We want God to fix the things that are wrong with our world, now. There are times when we may even think of God like an absentee landlord who is just letting the place we are living in go to pot. Not only that, but there may even be a part of us that is a little too eager for Jesus to come back with his powerful angels to punish those (2 Th. 1:8) who don’t know God and those who disobey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. But God doesn’t just tell us to wait patiently. He also tells us to live perseveringly.

Perseverance is actively waiting under stress. Doing the right thing under duress. Perseverance is navigating hardships and pressure and suffering. It’s dealing with all the troubles of taking up your cross and following Jesus and not succumbing to that urge to just lay it down for a little while.

It’s hard not to look at the Thessalonians and be embarrassed of our perseverance. So many times, instead of taking up our cross and following Jesus, we set it aside and try to find an alternate path. A way that doesn’t include so many sacrifices, so many troubles, or so much suffering. How can we read these words and not ask ourselves: How am I suffering for the kingdom of God? What sacrifices am I making for my faith in Jesus?

We don’t have to go looking for trouble, either. That’s not what Paul was saying, at all. But how many times don’t we see spiritual trouble brewing and we instantly look for an alternate route? We see people that are hurting or struggling, and instead of carving out time so that we can help bear their burdens, we clear out of the room. We see our friends & family falling into temptation, but we tell ourselves it’s not our place to say anything. We actively avoid God’s way.

Instead of actively mentoring the next generation of Christians, we complain about what they don’t get right. Instead of rubbing shoulders with those who have obvious struggles against the sinful flesh, we insulate ourselves and leave them to fend for themselves. We choose to run in circles where we won’t run into that kind of riffraff. We spend more time choosing where we are going to live, then how and where we are going to live out our faith.

At times, our attitude towards Christ’s church, the primary way that he advances his kingdom, exposes a deep & destructive selfishness. When church doesn’t check all your boxes, you check out. When there are troubles or hardships, you run for the hills.

Don’t confuse your church membership with your Costco membership. You are a member, a part, of a body. God himself has called & positioned you here at this moment. Can you imagine if, one morning, your legs just said: I’m not really interested in carrying the rest of the body anymore. Let the arms do it. It’s their turn. I’ve done enough. How ridiculous? But we who have seen the glory of God’s one and only Son, who have been called and numbered among his holy people will think, talk, and act like that! Our troubles pale in comparison to the Thessalonians, but far too often, so does our faith and our love for one another. Who would boast about our perseverance and faith?

But there is hope here for us. (2 Th. 1:6-7) Yes, God is just & powerful. He will return to judge the living and the dead. But look at Paul’s prayer. (2 Th. 1:11) We constantly pray that our God may make you worthy of his calling. (2 Th. 1:12) We pray this..according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. When we are impatient, God is patient with us. When we are faithless, God is faithful. When we are too quick to give in and give up, God gives us his grace.

Our salvation is not based on our own perseverance any more than our salvation is based on our own righteousness. God doesn’t love you because you are so steadfast. God loves you because he is love. Because his love is faithful. God’s (1 Cor. 13:7) love endures all things, even troubles, hardships, suffering, and our selfish timidity.

No one waited more or better for the Lord’s plan and timing than the Son of God. Jesus, as the Word made flesh, brought all of creation into existence. Then he watched mankind ruin it. Yet, he waited (Gal. 4:4) until the time had fully come to be born of a woman, born under law, to redeem us. For thirty some years, Jesus bided his time in Nazareth before beginning his public ministry. In the mean time, he lived alongside sinners and loved them. He honored his parents, even though they were sinners and he wasn’t. He studied the Word of God even though he was the Word made flesh. He prayed to his heavenly Father, persistently.

When his ministry began, he was perseverant on the path marked out for him. He fulfilled every prophetic detail, even when it was painful. He faced detractors and doubters and didn’t stop loving them. Even as he got closer to Calvary’s cross, he didn’t look for an alternate route. He asked his heavenly Father if there was any other way and then courageously confronted his betrayer, Judas.

As he suffered and died, he did not rail against the crowds. He prayed for their forgiveness. Jesus did not cry out about the physical pain of crucifixion or the shame of public execution. He cried out about being forsaken by his Father. He endured this pain so that you and I would not have to. He died shamefully to make us worthy of God’s holy calling. And in Christ, you are worthy of that calling. You are equipped to deal with hardships, troubles, and even suffering. Not because you are so steadfast or strong. But because (2 Cor. 12:9) God’s grace is sufficient. Because Christ lives in you.

When we wait, we are putting our faith into practice. When we struggle and even when we suffer we come to grips with our own weakness and frailty and proclaiming God’s power and wisdom.

Waiting is an exercise of faith. Whenever you wait you are giving a testimony about the thing or the person you are waiting for. You only wait for something or someone that is important to you. Not only that, but waiting for someone is a vote of confidence in them. You are confessing that you believe they will be where they said they would be. As we wait, we are confessing that we trust God’s plan. We know the goal of his patience, to bring many more to know him and the good news of his Son as their Savior.

Perseverance is putting that faith through its paces. It is day by day confessing that God’s path—even when it is hard, difficult, painful, or filled with sadness and suffering—is not a path to a better life, but the only path to the marvelous glory of heaven.

For this calling of waiting and persevering, God has given many blessings. He has given us his grace, in Word and Sacrament, to strengthen and sustain us through our all our struggles & suffering. He has blessed us with the example of believers like Paul and the Thessalonians, so that we do not lose heart. God has also surrounded us with faithful, fervent fellow believers in this church. This is your family, in Christ. These are your brothers and sisters.

Sometimes, when you go on a road trip, there are moments when things aren’t going so great. The journey doesn’t always go according to plan. But there is beauty in that for us believers. Because when our journey here on earth doesn’t go according to our plans, we rest assured that God is still in control. He is still actively working out all things for the good of those who love him. (Eph. 2:10) We are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God himself has planned and prepared in advance for us to do. Instead of getting frustrated or forcing our way off course, let’s trust the God who has loved us from before our first step. (Pr. 16:3-4) Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. The Lord works out everything to its proper end— even the wicked for a day of disaster. So let’s enjoy the journey and remember God’s promise. (Malachi 4:2) For you who revere my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. (2 Th. 3:5) May God direct our hearts in his love and Christ’s perseverance. May he give us that confidence and that joy as we make our journey home to heaven. Amen.