Encouragement Amongst Persecution

If you have a Bible, go ahead and grab it. We are going to look at all of 1 Thessalonians 3 tonight and we are going to talk about a subject that we have looked at numerous times over the years that I’ve been here and that’s the subject of persecution. I think that when we as 21st century Christians that live in the United States think of persecution, our first thought immediately goes to persecution that happens in the Middle East or in certain parts of Africa or North Korea. We think of persecution in the way of violence being done towards believers and Christians even dying for their faith in these places. Or maybe you just think of persecution as it is seen in Scripture and you think of the persecution and the hardships of the early church. But here is what I want to ask you tonight: What do you think persecution looks like here for us as Christians in the United States? And have you yourself ever experienced it? I would say that while we as Christians here in America are not yet fearing for our lives, we are certainly living in a time where it seems like we need to keep looking over our shoulders. People say that history often repeats itself and I think that this is true in some ways. I think that if you look at the state of nations in a post-resurrection world especially, that where there is a greater degree of ungodliness, persecution of the faithful is often attached to it. I would say if you look at how woke culture and how society at large seems to belittle us for our beliefs, how you can even see hostility rising towards peaceful Christians beginning to escalate, that Christians are to an extent being persecuted in this country. You even see in places that were once highly influenced by Christian ideals casting Christians aside, just look at Canada. The fact that you have a pastor being arrested for protesting a drag event for children at a public library is disgusting and like I’ve said before, none of this should surprise us. Jesus Himself told us that the world would hate us because the world hates Him. I think one of the many things that the Bible does well is that it tells us how to suffer well. It tells us not only that it is possible to endure but how to endure when the world starts to do battle with the Church. I think one of the reasons that God tells us so much about persecution in Scripture is not to petrify His people but to prepare His people. Sometimes the best offense is a good defense and I believe that God prepares us through the Holy Spirit and through His Word to endure through persecution. The entire book of Revelation was written so that Christians would be able to endure persecution while still knowing that God was still in control over all things. Even when everything around us seems totally chaotic, we can find rest in the storms because we know the One that has power over the storms. I want you all to have a good death and I want to prepare you to die well and I believe the Bible helps us to do that. Obviously I don’t wish ill on any of you but I want you to be like Paul in Acts 21:13 when he says that not only is he willing to be imprisoned for Christ, he’s more than willing to die for Christ. Whether you be 13 or 113, I want you to be able to suffer well for the glory of God. I don’t remember where I heard it from but I once heard a story about an old Prussian general Helmuth Von Multke who was so prepared for battle at any given time that on the night of the Franco-Prussian war, when France began their invasion of Prussia, an aid ran into inform Von Multke and all the general said was, “take the third binder from the left off the shelf” and then he went back to sleep because in that binder was the plan on how they would defend themselves against this invasion and sure enough, within a year the war was over and Prussia had won. It is possible for us to be so prepared for something that when it comes, we can point to that third binder on the left and go back to sleep because God has prepared us for such a moment. Remember what I’ve said before, God prepares the man for the moment and the moment for the man. So, how did Paul prepare the Thessalonians for persecution? How did he encourage this young church as they were about to go through trying times? That’s what we are going to see tonight so let’s go ahead and read 1 Thessalonians 3

1 Thessalonians 3 ESV

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, 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. 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. 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. 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? 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.

Paul the Encourager (Verses 1-5)

Let’s divide these first 10 verses into 2 parts: First we have Paul the encourager in verses 1-5 and then in verses 6-10 we have Paul the encouraged. How does Paul encourage this young Thessalonian church? And keep in mind this is a very young church that Paul was only able to spend between 3 weeks to 3 months at. These are baby believers! The first thing that he does is that he is first willing to suffer and be inconvenienced for their sake. This is a mark of a great pastor. A pastor that is willing to go through the flames of affliction for his people is a pastor that is worth following. Paul said that his distress over the welfare of the church was so great that he himself was willing to be left alone in a strange place, that he himself was willing to send his closest friend Timothy back to the church so that they might be strengthened. Timothy is sent with the purpose of establishing the church and exhorting them in their faith. Paul recognized the need for a young church to be built upon strong Biblical teaching. He knew that what they needed was the Word of God and the more that a church has the Word of God removed from it, the sooner the collapse will come. I don’t think that Paul thought that no one besides them was capable of leading the church. Anywhere Paul went, he made sure, as much as was possible, to establish leaders in the church so that when he left, the church could continue. It’s not the strength of the pastor that causes a church to continue, its the faithfulness of the church and it is through that where God allows the church to continue. I think instead what Paul is doing here is that because they were forced to leave so quickly, he did not get to train the next generation of leaders as much as he would have hoped for. So he sends Timothy to encourage these young believers and to ground them in Gospel truth. If you remove the cornerstone of the Gospel from the church, you’re left with a building and not a true church. To the best of Paul’s ability, he wanted to make sure that the church was built upon the true foundation. While Timothy is there, he continues to tell the church exactly what Paul had already told them while he was there and even in this letter and in 2 Thessalonians, Paul simply repeats what he already told them in person. While Paul was there, he told them about persecution and the likelihood of affliction because he didn’t want them to be caught off guard. He didn’t want them to be surprised by it. A good pastor tells his people the good and the bad. A pastor that doesn’t prepare his people for persecution is serving up his people on a silver platter. A good pastor needs to exhort, encourage, and prepare his people to suffer. Without warning of persecution that is to come, the pastor isn’t preparing his people and that is why I haven’t had any issue with telling you all at your age about persecution. Christianity isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, anyone that tells you otherwise is trying to sell you something. Jesus doesn’t promise us an easy life but He does promise us a full life. He promises us a life that will be worth it in the grand scheme of things. He promises us that no matter what we go through while on this earth, it won’t even compare to the joys that await us in the next. Paul sends Timothy to Thessalonica so that when afflictions come, and it was likely already there, that they would not be caught off guard by it. In the middle of verse 3, Paul says something that is really important that I think is worth diving into. He says of afflictions, “For you yourselves know that we are destined for this.” We know that God is sovereign over all things so does this mean that Christians are destined to be afflicted because that is what God has ordained? Suffering and persecution are not out of God’s hand and I think that what is important for us to remember is that Godly discipline is always good. Those things that God brings into our lives are always for our benefit and the more we discover the weakness of our own bodies, the stronger we will hopefully find our God to be. Leon Morris said, “There is a sense of immovability about it, of unchangeable divine appointment. Affliction, then, is no accident, but a very necessary part of the life of the Christian.” As Christians we know that we are not greater than our Master and He Himself suffered. We also know that we live in a sin-filled world that hates God and hates God’s people. However, God doesn’t bring things into our lives that we can’t be prepared or without warning. I think one of the easiest ways to look at this is by looking at Joseph’s answer to his brothers in Genesis 50:20: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” While the world brings evils to our lives, God is able to use those negatives to bring forth good things. Even persecution, when meant for evil, is brought before us, God is able to use that persecution for the greater good and so that many would be brought to faith in Christ. Just look at persecutions that have happened throughout history. Look at the way that saints have been killed for their faith only to have those that have persecuted turn to Christ in faith or how their stories have inspired many to look to the Lord. These aren’t isolated incidents either. One example from 1985 was a Bulgarian pastor who had been thrown into prison because he was preaching the Gospel and the trial was a total sham. Pastor Hristo Kulichev spent 8 months in prison for preaching and by the time he got out, he didn’t see his persecution as a wasted opportunity. When he got out of prison he said, "Both prisoners and jailers asked many questions, and it turned out that we had a more fruitful ministry there than we could have expected in church. God was better served by our presence in prison than if we had been free." We know that God is always at work and even as we endure persecution, we are reminded that God is working even then. If the Church of God could not be stopped at the cross or at the first century, nothing in all the earth will stop it now. The Church will endure because God is at work in the Church and He has tasked faithful preachers to prepare His people for what is to come. Not only does Paul encourage the Thessalonians, we see in verses 6-10 that he himself was encouraged by Timothy’s report.

Paul the Encouraged (Verses 6-10)

Timothy returns from Thessalonica and he brings back this amazing report for Paul. The church isn’t just enduring, it’s thriving and we know this from what we read back in chapter 1. They’re doing really well. Timothy brings back the news that their faith and love is on full display and that just as Paul had them on his mind, the Thessalonians have them on their mind and they long to see Paul again. Paul is so encouraged by this good report that it is like all of his troubles and tribulations just fade away. Look again at 1 Thessalonians 3:7-8

1 Thessalonians 3:7–8 (ESV)

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.

There is no greater joy for a pastor than to know that his people are being faithful. There is nothing greater in the eyes of a pastor than seeing the church outgrow so to speak, the area and influence of the pastor. The Apostle John would later say this in 3 John 3-4

3 John 3–4 (ESV)

For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

Both Paul and John recognized that their success depended on the success of the Church. The faithfulness of the church will always be a ground for rejoicing for the Christian leader. It is their reminder that their labor is not in vain and while they may not see it right away, they look ahead to the day where the church will take what they have been taught and run with it. I will say for my own experience that I love seeing you guys talk about your faith with me. I love when I hear you say that you are trying to invite people to church and I really want you to understand that it is great if those friends come but I really am happy that you are going out of your way to just invite them. Let me say on top of that, if you get a no from someone once, that doesn’t mean stop asking them. You would be surprised at how often people will come around to coming to church because someone kept inviting them. When I was in college, one of my youth professors warned us that we as youth pastors will never know just how great an impact we had on students until years after they graduate and even then, they may not even tell us. Let me just say, I’m not looking for a pat on the back and I’m not even claiming that I did that much but I think that when I look on Facebook or see on Instagram former students leading worship somewhere, going on mission’s trip, getting involved in a church somewhere else, then I feel like they really don’t need to say anything. Because no matter how much I may have had to do with that one student and his or her walk, I know that I was able to pour just a little bit of water on that seed and God is now seeing to its growth and that’s really encouraging. I think that’s how Paul felt. He heard about these young Christians that he knew for only a short while that were going out and having their faith and love known the whole world over and he was so proud. And he felt a Godly joy in what God was doing in their lives. I want to feel that way with you. I want to hear 10 years from now that so and so led worship in this church, or preached here, or shared the Gospel here, or is living faithfully here because then I’ll know that all this labor has not been in vain and I will be comforted about you through your faith. I really do mean this, if I die and am one day forgotten, so be it. I’m working on being ok with that. But if just one of you takes what we have taught you and you go and make your faith known all the world over, that’ll be enough for me. I pray that I have been faithful in what God has given me and I pray that I have declared to you the whole counsel of God so that one day I may look back on you, my spiritual children in Christ, and think, “in all of my distress and affliction I have been comforted about you through your faith.” Like Paul, I really do thank God for you. Each and every one because you came into my life at such a critical time. When I got here, I wasn’t even sure to what extent God wanted me in ministry. I started here in 2019. Covid was just a distant rumor at that point. If we look at it just by years, I’ve been here now for 5 different years. That’s the longest I’ve ever been in any church and while some have come and gone, my hope is that none have left here unloved and unwarned. My hope is that as I have grown in my faith over these years, you have grown in yours. My prayer is that I was able to position you in such a way that no matter where you go from here, you know which direction you should go. My prayer is that we have built upon the strong foundation of Christ and His Word and that as you leave in the future, you know what to look for in a Church. That you know what theology and doctrines are most important, that you aren’t whisked away into what so many call truth that are straight up lies and false teachings. All of this is to say that I want to be able to live because I know that you are all standing fast in the Lord. I want to feel tremendous joy for your sake because of what God is doing in your life and I will do all that I can to supply that which might be lacking in your faith. How can we all be encouraged to do this then? I think Paul gives us a little bit of a template in verses 11-13 so let’s read those again and then we will be done for the night. 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13

1 Thessalonians 3:11–13 ESV

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.

Paul’s Prayer as a Template of Encouragement (Verses 11-13)

I want to quickly direct our attentions to 3 things in Paul’s plea that I think will encourage us as we potentially face persecution and even just as we live out our Christian lives. I think that these 3 things we should use as a prayer in our lives.

May God direct our ways

The first thing that we should pray for is that God would direct our ways. We should pray that God’s will would continue to be done in our lives and that He would continue to bring us where we are supposed to be. Paul asked that God would direct them back to the Thessalonians and more importantly, would direct the hearts of the Thessalonians back to Christ. This is a prayer that we can never outgrow. I don’t want to take a single step that isn’t directed by God and I know that with my Heavenly Father will lead me according to His way. Proverbs 16:9 says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” Pray that the Lord would direct you and lead you where you need to be. If we know that God is directing our ways, we know that even if we are led through the valley of the shadow of death we have nothing to fear because our Great Shepherd is leading us. If God is directing our ways, we can find great peace and comfort in knowing that He is only bringing us to that which will be used for our greatest good, persecution and all.

May God increase our love for each other

The second thing we should pray for is that God would grow our love for each other. Not just that it will grow but it will abound. We could always show more love couldn’t we? We could always find someone in our lives that we could love a little more. How do we know this? Because how many people are in this room right now that you know you should love but you don’t? I know that people are difficult. God is a realist, if anyone knew how difficult it could be to love someone, I’m sure it is the Lord. If we are to love people that we find difficulty in loving, wouldn’t it make sense for us to ask that God would increase our love for those people? Wouldn’t it also be beneficial for us to pray that God would increase our love for the lost? Wouldn’t it also make since that we pray for God to increase our love to be obedient to Him and His commandments? The more we abound in love for God the less we will see His commands as a burden. Instead, we will see it as a tremendous joy because we are acting out our love for our Heavenly Father.

May we be blameless before the throne of God.

Then finally, we should pray that God would establish our hearts to be blameless in holiness. We are to be pure and we are to be holy. Our prayer should be that we would stand faultless before the throne of God and that we would abound in hope. We know that our Savior is coming soon. We know that when He comes that we want to be a bride that is ready. We don’t want to be wearing a wedding outfit that is muddied and dirty. We want to be a pure bride awaiting their wedding day. How are we to do that? By establishing our hearts in holiness, by pursuing sanctification and we will talk a whole lot more about this next week when we really sit down and ask the question, “What is God’s will for my life?” We know that our Lord is coming soon so shouldn’t that drive us to live according to that reality? What do you want God to see you doing when Christ returns? John MacArthur wrote, “Believers knowing that when Christ comes to reward His people, they will have their works evaluated before the judgement seat, is motivation to holy living.” What is it that drives your actions? What is it that excites you for your Savior? How are you going to live your life between now and when He returns or calls you home? I can’t encourage you all enough to familiarize yourself with the resolutions that Jonathan Edwards wrote as a young man. I know that the older phrasings may be a little confusing for some but if you slow down and read it, I know that they will be beneficial. Edwards wrote in one of these resolutions, “Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if I expected it would not be above an hour, before I should hear the last trump.” What he is saying that he made it up in his mind that he would not do anything that he would not want God to see as if Christ was returning that very hour. Certainly, we would all want to put forth our absolute best if we knew that Christ was coming within the hour and who is to say that He isn’t? He very well may come by the time you get picked up tonight and if that is so, how do you want to present yourself to Him? My hope is that you want to present yourself blameless in holiness before our God and Father. That was Paul’s prayer for him and the church and that is my prayer for you. Let’s pray.