1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5

INTRODUCTION

When You’re Here, You’re Family

Does anybody recognize this slogan?

What are they trying to convey with this slogan?

The Bible talks about a church being like a family.

Last week we saw Paul using images of the family, with a mother nurturing her baby, and a father teaching his children.

Do you think this is how most Christians see the church today? Why or why not?

Today, as we continue in 1 Thessalonians, we are going to see how Paul exemplified a committed love to the Thessalonians, when he couldn’t be personally among them.

We will be going through 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5.

The first emphasis we are going to see from Paul, is that as Christians…

We Long For One Another

1 Thessalonians 2:17-18 “But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us.”

EXPLAIN

Paul and his companions had been “torn away” from the Thessalonians.

They had not left by their own will.

We remember from Acts 17, that they preached there for 3 weeks, until some jealous Jews set the city in an uproar to try and stop them from preaching the gospel.

The people and the city authorities were disturbed, and sensing the seriousness of the situation, the believers sent Paul and Silas away for their own safety.

Paul wants to defend himself against anyone who might be accusing him of leaving them high and dry.

He hadn’t left willingly, but by force.

His original intention was not to leave so quickly, but to stay and support them.

To be there long enough to establish them firmly in their faith.

He is essentially saying, “I wouldn’t have left so quickly if I didn’t have to.”

APPLY

Christian’s cherish time with one another.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “If you want it, you’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.”

Or maybe the saying, “You’ll have to kill me first!”

What do these sayings mean?

We love or cherish something so much, that we are unwilling to give it up.

We would be willing to die for it.

This is how we ought to view our time with fellow believers.

We should cherish the time that we get to spend with one another.

We do this because of the value that it brings to our lives.

We receive encouragement from one another.

We keep each other accountable.

We sharpen one another.

We can confess sin to one another.

We can help and pray for one another.

When we really live out and understand the blessings of living in community with one another, we will cherish the time we have together.

We will guard and preserve it. We will look forward to it.

If you want to take it from me, “You’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands!”

Is this how most Christians think of their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? Why or why not?

What needs to change?

EXPLAIN

Paul says we were torn away from you, then he says, “for a short time, in person not in heart”

They had been separated physically, but not spiritually.

Paul was still connected to them through the power of the Holy Spirit.

He still thought of them, and prayed for them, becuase he was concerned for them.

Back in 1:2-3 Paul says:

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Just because they were not together physically does not mean they couldn’t minister to one another.

They had no instant communication the way we do, and so the only way they could communicate was by letter.

But they could lift one another up in prayer, to God who sees, cares for, watches over, and listens to our prayers.

APPLY

Christians pray for one another.

As children of God, we are part of the same family, so we are connected through Christ.

We no longer think only about ourselves, but others.

Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Even though we are separated throughout the week, God brings other people to our mind, and we can pray for them.

This takes intentionality on our part. We must train our brain to think of others, because it naturally reverts to self-preservation.

You can set reminders, have prayer lists or cards, but you have to be intentional.

We also must know others well enough to know what’s going on in their lives, so that we have things we can pray intentionally for.

When we do, God will bring those things to mind from time to time.

Have any of you experienced a time when God brought someone to mind and you were able to pray for them? Or someone thought of you and reached out and let you know they were praying for you?

EXPLAIN

Then Paul says, “we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us.”

Paul, again, wanting to protect his motives from those who wanted to slander him, emphasizes his desire to come and see them time and time again, but he was prevented from doing so by Satan.

His desire was to come and see them. He longed to be with them to help and support them.

He was faithful to pray for them while not with them, but he recognized it was far better to be face to face!

Paul understood that true spiritual formation happens when we are face to face with one another.

APPLY

Christians long to be together.

At the beginning of Covid we were forced to be separated.

At our church in Kentucky, we did church online, and small groups online.

We were thankful for the technology to meet at all, and I’m sure Paul would have loved to be able to have it in his day, but it was just not the same as being together with one another.

Drinking coffee together, worshiping together and hearing one another’s voices, talking after the service, hearing and seeing kids running around...

These are all wonderful parts of being in community together.

It makes it feel like family.

Have you had a time when you couldn’t be in church? How did that feel? What did you miss?

We Boast in One Another

1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 “For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.”

EXPLAIN

Here, Paul wants to show the pride he takes in the Thessalonians. He wants them to know how valuable they are to him.

The way he does this is by drawing their mind to the second coming of Christ.

When Jesus returns, what do you think we are going to boast about?

Our accomplishment?

All the places we traveled?

All the beatings I took?

All the hunger we endured?

All the shipwrecks we faced?

NO! We are going to boast in you!!

Think back to how Paul praises them at the beginning of the letter. He is so grateful to God for how they have thrived and grown as a result of the Holy Spirit’s work in their lives.

This is true spiritual fruit:

Lives that are transformed by the Holy Spirit, through the work that we do in one another’s lives.

The fruit in the Thessalonians lives was an outward sign an inward transformation.

APPLY

Christians work towards spiritual growth in one another, and rejoice in the fruit.

Paul worked hard among the Thessalonians for their faith, and their growth in Christ.

The Holy Spirit worked in their hearts causing them to accept their teaching as God’s Word, and trust in Christ as their Saviour.

Now they were displaying fruit in their lives.

That fruit was the outward sign of an inward transformation.

This is how we ought to work among one another.

When we are part of a family, our concern goes beyond personal gain.

We no longer only think about ourselves.

We want the whole family to flourish.

Our church is a place where we are deeply rooted, and connected at the core of who we are.

When we see a need, we take it upon ourselves to try and meet it, because, “THAT’S MY FAMILY!”

We strive to see growth in the lives of others in the church.

We work hard to bring about that growth, and we rejoice when we see it!

Think of a farmer — “Ten Steps to a Successful Garden” (University of Illinois)

Step 1 — Make good use of your location

Step 2 — plan your garden layout

Step 3 — grow recommended varieties

Step 4 — obtain good seed, plants, equipment, and supplies

Step 5 — prepare and care for the soil properly

Step 6 — plant your vegetables right

Step 7 — keep down weeds

Step 8 — control pests

Step 9 — water properly

Step 10 — harvest at peak quality

This takes a lot of hard work and patience, but it will be our “joy, and crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming!”

What prevents us from being more concerned about others than ourselves? How do we fight against it?

In what ways can we be intentional to work for fruit in the lives of others?

We Sacrifice For One Another

1 Thessalonians 3:1-2 “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,

EXPLAIN

Paul was willing to be without Timothy in order to help the Thessalonians.

Whatever reason prevented Paul from returning, did not prevent Timothy from going there.

It seems Timothy was not with Paul and Silas on their initial visit to Thessalonica.

It may have been that Paul and Silas would not have been welcome back, but Timothy might not have been known yet.

In any case, to lose Timothy, and possibly risk his life was a daunting thought to Paul, but they must have discussed it, prayed about it, and came to the conclusion that it was the best course of action.

Their desire to help the Thessalonians was greater than any personal desire or safety.

APPLY

Christians are willing to endure personal discomfort for the sake of others.

This is a mark of true love.

You will not be able to do this for those you only sort of like.

This level of sacrifice is only possible towards those you truly love!

Their is a level of sacrifice and committment, because you’re invested.

Someone will eventually leave a job if they’re not truly invested or committed.

They will get to a point where they will say,

“I don’t deserve this.”

“I don’t get paid enough to be treated like this.”

They realize that they can go and find another job somewhere else that would be better.

Unfortunately, that’s how many view church.

If I don’t like this one, or they do something I don’t like, I will just go find another one.

But if church is like family, it shouldn’t be this way.

We should be committed and invested to one another.

You can’t change your family! (whether that’s for better or worse…)

We must commit to one another, so long as there’s nothing seriously wrong.

Why is there a lack of commitment to church in our day? What can be done to help?

Why did Paul send Timothy???

1 Thessalonians 3:2-4 “to establish and exhort you in your faith, 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.”

EXPLAIN

There was purpose in sending Timothy.

He was to establish and exhort them in their faith.

Rooted and grounded in the truth of the gospel.

Paul specifically mentions the purpose for this, which is that they would endure the suffering that they were facing.

He doesn’t want the sufferings they are going through to shake and move them.

In fact, Timothy went to remind them that this was exactly the thing they told them from the very beginning.

“We told you this affliction was going to come, and now it has, as you now know.”

You shouldn’t be surprised that this has happened.

Stay the course… you don’t need to change direction.

APPLY

Christians speak the truth in love.

This is perhaps one of the hardest things to do in the Christian life.

Why is speaking the truth to someone else so hard?

We are concerned about offending them.

Why is it necessary to speak the truth?

To save them from sin, or worse, their salvation.

Is there a right or wrong way to speak the truth?

We must have the right motive. Not to “be right”, but to love them, which is to speak with a concern for them.

Paul could have tiptoed around the issue with the Thessalonians, but he was more concerned about their eternal lives than he was their “feelings”.

As Christians, we follow truth which is contrary to the “truth” of this world.

We need to be bold in speaking the truth to one another, in love, for their benefit.

1 Thessalonians 3:5 “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.”

EXPLAIN

Paul came to his breaking point. He had waited, and he could wait no longer. He needed to find out how the Thessalonians were doing.

This was the tipping point, where Paul was willing to make a risky decision.

The stakes were high: Paul was concerned Satan had tempted them to the point of giving up.

There are times when we can put things off, and put things off, but eventually we have to make the difficult decision.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

The story of the paralyzed man who is lowered through the roof where Jesus is teaching.

They had heard of Jesus’ miracles, and knew that he was going to be close enough to them to be able to carry their friend there.

They knew the comotion it would cause, and also may have thought that it could upset Jesus, or others. (including the home owner)

BUT… They knew this was their one great chance for their friend to walk.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

APPLY

Christians take risks for one another.

We need to be willing to take appropriate risks when necessary.

First, we need to be involved enough in one another’s lives to know how things are REALLY going.

Why is this necessary?

If we don’t know what’s going on in one another’s lives we can’t help one another.

We can help when the problem is small, and it doesn’t have to become large.

Second, when things become serious, we need to take drastic measure.

We abandon personal safety, for the benefit of someone else.

Are there situations you can think of that require drastic measure?

When someone’s marriage is falling apart.

When someone is on their death bed.

When someone is suicidal.

Are there any other comments/questions before we go to group prayer time?

PRAYER/GROUP TIME PROMPT

In what way have you been challenged to show a deeper love for your church family?

Next week we are going to be going through 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13.

Please read ahead, complete a HEAR journal if you would like, or just take notes of things that stand out to you.

Also, a great way to learn is to write down questions as they come to mind.