1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Opening illustration about a moment when you were “holding your breath” for an intense situation/moment. The outcome was not guaranteed, and you were anxiously waiting to know what would happen.

I enjoy watching sports, and this Christmas we watched the World Juniors.

Canada made it to the final, and were winning 2-0, until the Czech’s tied the game late in the 3rd period.

The game went to OT, and we were sitting on the edge of our seats, holding our breath, until Canada finally scored the game-winning goal!

Have you ever experienced a moment where you were on the edge of your seat, or “holding your breath”?

The closing seconds of a sporting event.

Hearing about a loved one in an accident or other health complication.

A tense situation.

This is what Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy were facing as they wondered how the Thessalonians were doing.

They had readily accepted the gospel when they were there, but were they going to be able to handle their first test of pressure from the Jews who were going to try and squash the movement?

This caused Paul and his companions a lot of worry, and they were greatly concerned for them as they prayed for God to strengthen them and hold them fast.

They finally decided to send Timothy to find out how they were doing.

It meant Paul would be without his help, and that Timothy would need to risk his life, but they were willing to take their chances in order to find out how the Thessalonians were doing and help them.

Now, Timothy has come back with the report of how the Thessalonians were doing, and we get the opportunity to see Paul’s response.

The first thing we are going to learn from our passage this evening is that…

We Should Delight in One Another

1 Thessalonians 3:6-8 “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.”

EXPLAIN

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy had been worried about the Thessalonians, and finally sent Timothy to find out how they were doing.

They were comforted to know that they had remained committed in their faithfulness to God!

In verse 6, we see FOUR reasons Paul is comforted by hearing about the Thessalonians.

First…

Paul is comforted by their faith.

He is happy to hear of their faith in God.

In difficult circumstances it is easy to feel like God has abandoned you.

As the pressure mounts, and it feels like God is absent, we lose hope and think, “What’s the point?”

This causes many to abandon faith.

But not the Thessalonians! They have maintained their faith in God, which brings Paul comfort.

Second…

Paul is comforted by their love.

He is happy to hear of their love for one another.

With all of the persecution and suffering that was taking place, we can imagine that there were many opportunities to meet needs of others.

Whether it was providing food or clothing, or a place to stay, they were committed to showing love through their actions.

This is a mark of genuine salvation. Jesus said they will know you by your love for one another.

1 John 3:18 “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

Third…

Paul is comforted that they remember him kindly.

He is happy to hear that they remember all the things he hoped they would remember.

In chapter 2, we talked about the fact that Paul was calling on them to remember:

How hard they worked among them,

How they loved them like a nursing mother,

How they patiently instructed them like a father,

How they were holy, righteous, and blameless while with them.

How they acted with integrity, care, and sacrifice while they were with them.

Now Paul is encouraged and comforted to know that they DID remember!

Fourth…

Paul is comforted that they long to see him.

They desire to see him again, as he longs to see them again.

Not only do they remember their time together fondly, but they are looking forward to the next time they get to spend time together.

This is the mark of a good relationship… when both sides enjoyed the time together so much that they are eagerly anticipating the next visit.

The Thessalonians were so appreciative to Paul for:

Bringing them the gospel,

Patiently teaching and correcting them,

Meeting both their spiritual and physical needs.

Their gratefulness to Paul is seen in their desire to see him again.

For all these reasons, Paul has been comforted, even though, as he says in verse 7, they continue to face ongoing distress and affliction.

1 Thessalonians 3:7 “for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith.”

He even goes on to say…

1 Thessalonians 3:8 “For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.”

I think the NLT captures the essence of what Paul means here with this statement…

NLT — “It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord.”

For now they have the strength to continue and press on, because the Thessalonians have not departed from the faith, but remain rooted, and are thriving in the Lord.

APPLY

We should delight in one another, which is to have great comfort and joy when others are thriving spiritually.

We’ve seen Paul emphasize FOUR things that we should take delight in, in one another:

faith,

love,

remembering one another, and

longing to see one another.

Is there anything else in this passage that stands out to you? Or do you have any questions about anything we’ve gone through?

Can you think of some other good reasons to delight in one another that we might add to Paul’s list?

Often times we do not delight in the right things for one another.

Can you think of some wrong things that Christians rejoice in, in one another? “I’m happy for them, or I am excited because…”

That they have come to my side of the argument. They see things the way I do. (Matter of personal preference)

They like the song I sent them. (This can sometimes offend me… when someone doesn’t like my style music.)

They like the speakers I like.

We ought to make sure that we are focused on the right things. The things that are most important.

The second thing we are going to learn from our passage this evening is that…

We Should Praise God for One Another

1 Thessalonians 3:9-10 “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?”

EXPLAIN

Paul is over-joyed to learn that the Thessalonians are rooted and established in Christ.

Timothy went there to affirm that they were on the right track and needed to continue persistently, and they were doing so.

This made Paul ecstatic!

He’s saying, “words cannot express my joy.”

Have you ever had a time when you were so excited about something, or so relieved to get good news, that there were no words to adequately express your joy or relief?

Relief at a misdiagnosis

Relieved to hear family member okay after accident

Joy at birth of child

Paul’s thanksgiving resulted in praise to God.

1 Thessalonians 3:9 “For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God,”

There are no words to adequately express our joy! We are speechless!

This gives us a bit of a window into Paul’s deep heart of concern for the Thessalonians. The amount of joy that he now feels for them, has to do with the amount of worry and fear he had not knowing how they were doing.

Imagine you hear that a loved one was in a car accident.

Your mind immediately begins to race… What happened? Are they okay? How bad could it be?

You worry deeply about them because you love them.

Now imagine the relief you feel finding out they are okay, and not seriously hurt.

This is the sort of joy Paul feels before God.

He recognizes that God is the One who deserves the credit and the glory...

Yet he realizes no amount of thanksgiving on their part is adequate.

It will fall short of what God deserves.

Paul’s thanksgiving resulted in prayer.

1 Thessalonians 3:10 “as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?”

Paul knows that God has been the One at work in the lives of the Thessalonians.

This has led to his thanksgiving to God, and strengthened his faith, leading to further trust in God.

This trust is evidenced by his continual prayer.

Notice:

Paul’s attitude of prayer

What sort of attitude did the apostle Paul display while he was praying for the believers in Thessalonica?

“most earnestly”

It is not half-hearted, but sincere.

He truly longs for what he is praying for.

The frequency of Paul’s prayer

How often did Paul pray for the Thessalonians?

“night and day”

His sincerity is shown in how often he prays.

He doesn’t just ask once, but continually.

The content of Paul’s prayer

What was most pressing for Paul as he thought of and prayed for the Thessalonians?

“that we may see you face to face”

They had a deep longing to see the Thessalonians.

This further proved his love for them, which he has shown in multiple ways through this letter.

“and supply what is lacking in your faith”

Which leads us to the final point in this section…

Paul’s thanksgiving resulted in a longing to serve.

Paul is grateful for how God has been moving among the Thessalonians, and how they have remained committed to God, and exemplified great faith even in their suffering and affliction…

But he knows they have a long way to go.

No matter how long we’ve been Christians, we need to grow in our faith.

There are always areas that we need to have greater faith in order to give them over to God.

Is there anything else in this passage that stands out to you? Or do you have any questions about anything we’ve gone through?

APPLY

We should praise God for one another.

When we hear someone else is doing well, we should rejoice with them, and give glory to God.

Why do we struggle to rejoice with others who are doing well?

We are jealous.

We’re so busy thinking about ourselves that we don’t think of others.

We should desire to see one another so that we can be a part of growing someone else’s faith.

Why don’t we desire to see others grow?

We don’t want them to grow beyond us.

We are selfish.

In what ways can we practically help others grow in their faith? How do you think Paul would have done it?

Reading Scripture together.

Praying together and for one another.

Encouraging one another in whatever season we find ourselves.

Sending an encouraging song/sermon/Scripture

The third thing we are going to learn from our passage this evening is that…

We Should Pray for One Another

In the previous section, we learned of Paul’s response to hearing the good news that the Thessalonians remained strong and steadfast in their faith.

He tells them how was a great encouragement to him, and how he prays for them, and now he continues to share how he is going to be praying for them moving forward.

1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 “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.”

In the previous section we talked about the content of Paul’s prayer, and this is a continuation of his prayer for the Thessalonians.

EXPLAIN

This is Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians.

Paul’s continued prayer to see them.

1 Thessalonians 3:11 “Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you,”

Paul has already shared with the Thessalonians of his great desire to see them, and how he had been hindered by Satan.

Now he puts his trust in God’s sovereignty, realizing that it is in God’s hands.

His prayer to God is that He Himself, would direct their way, so that they could go and minister to the Thessalonians.

His desire is that God would allow them to see them yet again.

As he has already mentioned, his desire is to help them grow in their faith.

Paul’s continued prayer for their love to increase.

1 Thessalonians 3:12 “and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you,”

His prayer is that GOD would bring about this change in their hearts and lives.

Recognizing that God may not allow them to come see the Thessalonians soon, Paul seeks to comfort them by helping them to see that they are in God’s hands.

This is a far better place to be than in any man’s hands.

His prayer is that the Lord would increase their love for one another.

He has already affirmed the love they have for one another, and yet his desire is that it would continue to increase, and so be a witness to those who were persecuting them.

Paul’s continued prayer for their assurance.

1 Thessalonians 3:13 “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 desire is that they would have assurance of their faith.

We have all thought of the day of Christ’s return, or God’s judgement, and wondered about the thought of being rejected by God because of our sin.

Paul recognizes this fear and anxiety, and prays for God to establish their hearts blameless in holiness before God.

He wants them to understand their true position in Christ. This is justification.

He is also looking forward to their glorification, when they will be made perfect, without sin.

Is there anything else in this passage that stands out to you? Or do you have any questions about anything we’ve gone through?

APPLY

As believers we ought to pray for one another.

Why don’t we pray more for one another?

We are too self-focused.

We are too busy.

We are not intentional.

We don’t know what to pray for.

Why do we struggle to know what to pray for?

We don’t know our Bibles well enough.

Have you ever prayed a prayer from the Bible over someone?

This is a great way for us to focus on one another’s hearts, rather than emotion, or feeling.

Does the way you normally pray have the potential to increase or decrease your faith in God?

If we focus on healing, then we are bound to be disappointed.

God’s agenda is not to heal everyone.

Countless millions of people have lived and died before us, and God has not healed them all, nor will he heal us all.

Is there anything from today’s lesson that you feel the Holy Spirit leading you to change this week?

Next week we will be studying 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12.