1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 - The Direction of God

1 Thessalonians • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago • Presented 2 years ago

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11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 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.

Target Date: Sunday, 9 October 2022

Word Study/ Translation Notes:

Direct -κατευθύνω (katĕuthunō) – intensified form of “straighten” or guide.

Only used 3 times in NT.

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” - Luke 1:79

May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. - 2 Thessalonians 3:5

Thoughts on the Passage:

In mentioning this prayer to both the Father and the Son – as a singular entity – Paul displays his implicit understanding of the deity of Jesus Christ.

Many commentators do not consider the singular verb as significant, treating it only as a convention of speech. In the other examples, though, the antecedents are of the same essence.

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me - John 10:27

There is certainly something to be said for this being indicative of the call of Jesus to salvation – justification. It is entirely true that we heed his voice when we truly repent and believe in Him for salvation.

But are we to understand that is the last time we will feel the guiding hand of Jesus Christ on our hearts? Is this call limited to the instant of conversion, then all further contact is held in abeyance until the Parousia? No.

Building Points:

He will not NECESSARILY be leading you if you are not seeking to be led.

He will not call you to violate His word. In fact, most of His guidance will proceed FROM His word.

He will not lead you to harm or humiliate others.

He will not lead you to your own benefit or glory.

Sermon Text:

Beginning in verse 11 of this third chapter and running through verse 13, we have a prayer of Paul.

This prayer is in the form of a benediction, or prayer for the blessing of the hearers.

It is similar in tone to the benediction I pray for you all at the close of each Lord’s Day service from Hebrews 13:20f.:

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. - Hebrews 13:20-21

What makes today’s passage slightly unusual for a benediction is the mention in verse 11 of a blessing desired for the pray-er:

That God would direct our way to you.

There is certainly nothing wrong with making these kinds of petitions for ourself to God;

We are commanded to do that very thing.

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. – Philippians 4:6

And even in the context of this benediction, we can easily understand that a swift return of Paul and Silas to the church of Thessalonica would allow them to “complete what is lacking in [their] faith” (3:10)

So even in this request, there is the blessing of the Thessalonian believers in mind.

You can see that, were it not for the benefit the Thessalonian believers would receive by further instruction in the faith, Paul and Silas and Timothy could simply move on to a new work in a new location.

There would be no talk of returning to the church to “complete” them, but only perhaps to see them again, or to impart some further spiritual gift mutually with them. (Romans 1:11-12)

When he was writing in a later epistle to the more established congregation in Philippi, he does not express the same earnest need to return to them:

Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm - Philippians 1:27

There was unfinished spiritual business left in Thessalonica at the time of this letter.

You will recall that Timothy had gone to help this church on behalf of Paul and Silas and had returned with a good report on the Thessalonians’ progress in the faith.

But there was still work to be done,

questions to be answered,

errors to be corrected,

doctrines to be taught,

disciples to be trained.

So we can understand the need Paul and Silas see in the Thessalonian church,

but what do they mean by their prayer that God would direct their way again to Thessalonica and the believers there?

That is the question I would like to take our time this morning to consider, looking all the while at the application it has for us today.

So first, we need to understand what Paul and Silas were praying for in this instance.

What did they mean when they prayed that God would direct their way to Thessalonica?

When they pray that God direct them, they are praying that God will sovereignly, powerfully steer them, guide them, even straightening the path for them.

Contrary to the way many often pray today, there is no hint of telling God HOW this will be accomplished, but merely praying for the need and trusting Him to sovereignly accomplish it.

How many of our prayers are asking God to do OUR will or to do His will in OUR way?

So many times, even a simple prayer like “Give us this day our daily bread” is more like:

“Give me today a good meal, not just bread, but some tasty things. Maybe I could even eat out. Please, God, let me go out and get a steak. A good one – at a nice place…”

Even so-called Christian leaders don’t merely ask for a plane to fly to do their “ministry” – they NEED a G5 “In Jesus’s name”.

The prayer of these faithful apostles here in 1 Thessalonians is not a prescription for God to fill;

It is a petition for God to provide additional divine help to accomplish His work.

This is what Jesus was talking about in John 14:13-14:

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

He wasn’t simply signing a blank check for the fleshly desires of your heart;

He was assuring you He was not leaving you to fend for yourself in your own strength to accomplish His will and His work.

It restates the same promise God made through Moses in Deuteronomy 31:8:

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

And just so we know that this is a call to faith and not an invitation to greed, the Holy Spirit tells us in Hebrews 13:5:

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

So far from asking God to bless their plans, Paul and Silas here were asking for God to make sure they were following HIS plans.

That God would GUIDE them, DIRECT them, to finish what they had begun in Thessalonica,

That very work that Satan had tried so hard to hinder and destroy.

We know from earlier in this chapter, they had been praying for this very thing for a LONG time:

Long enough to try everything they could to return to Thessalonica, only to have Satan block them at every turn.

Long enough to struggle in prayer over whether to send the young Timothy to the church.

Long enough for Silas to then be called away to another project in Macedonia.

Long enough for Paul to wait in Athens, preach on Mars’ Hill, and proceed on to Corinth.

Long enough for him to send a letter to Timothy in Thessalonica asking for an urgent update.

Long enough for Timothy to come to Corinth and make his happy report.

Every single day, day after day, the apostle raised the issue in prayer to God.

Not just once or twice or three times, like the prayers he raised regarding his “thorn in the flesh”.

Scores of days, weeks and months of prayers.

I am afraid that many Calvinists, indeed many believers regardless of their theology, would not persist so long in prayer.

We might tell ourselves that it must not be God’s will if He hasn’t answered our prayer by now.

Now recall, these prayers were NOT asking God to make their plan work;

These prayers were for God to allow them some way, any way, to return to Thessalonica for the sake of that young church.

But I would warn us about this: Calvinism is not fatalism.

It is not faith if we do not persist in our prayer for the sake of God’s work.

It is not faith if we give up praying because God hasn’t answered us yet.

We have this idea that great faith is found in prayers that can move mountains.

But more often in Scripture, the greatest faith is found in prayers that persist until the mountain is moved.

Your faith is measured by your persistence in the work of God.

Because our faith is NEVER in our words, our power, or even our closeness with God;

The only faith that can properly be called faith is faith in God alone.

Faith that He will do what He said.

Faith that He will overcome the obstacles.

Faith that even if we can see no way forward, He is not stopped or even slowed.

Many people who hear me today are concerned with the state of family members, worried that they are not or may not be followers of Jesus Christ.

Never let your prayers fail for their salvation, not even when their lives seem hopeless.

Persist in prayer the way David prayed for his first child with Bathsheba:

Pray and do all you can to save them so long as they draw breath.

That is the sheer beauty of God’s sovereign election in salvation – He can take the most miserable sinner, dead in his sin,

And make him alive in Christ, bringing him to repentance and faith.

And your prayers toward that end will NOT be wasted.

As long as they live, don’t grow weary praying for them.

But aside from praying for the salvation of those we love, how can we know the direction God has for us?

How do we know that what we are praying for is of God?

I would suggest four tests we can use to help us sift out whether we are seeking God’s will or merely God’s assistance for our will.

1. Do I REALLY want to do God’s will and work?

I begin with this one because it is very likely God is NOT leading you in His way if you are not seeking to be led.

Yes, I know God can and does use the unrighteous to accomplish His ends.

Like Nebuchadnezzar performing God’s judgment on Judah.

But this is of no benefit to the unrighteous person, the unfaithful person.

without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. – Hebrews 11:6

Are you willing to do ANYTHING God sets before you?

Or in your heart, do you tell Him “I would do anything for You, but don’t ask me to do THAT”?

And “THAT” is something that God would ask – good and right.

We cannot expect to be directed by God if we are not willing to be directed by Him.

We can be driven, certainly, like a flock of goats is driven before a shepherd or a boat is driven before a storm.

But to be gently, lovingly directed by God, we must be seeking His will in everything.

For those who might wonder, yes, it means you have to be in Christ.

If you have not been joined with Christ by faith, you have only the expectation of being driven before God’s wrath.

This is not some simplistic legalism – love everybody and God will bless you.

Rather, it is “surrender your life to Christ, and He will save you and lead you.”

2. Is what I am praying for honoring His word, the Scriptures, or even flowing from it?

God will never lead contrary to His established word.

In fact, He will most often lead as an outgrowth or applications FROM His word.

When we find someone in need, we give because we are told to give.

When we see someone imperiling their lives, we intervene because we should.

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. - 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

Does your love for Christ control you?

Does it control you so much that you see in every face a person for whom Jesus Christ died?

I am not talking theologically, but practically.

Since we NEVER know who the Elect are in advance of their conversion, do you view EVERYONE as a person Christ died for?

3. Is what I am praying for gentle to a bruised reed?

Our Lord is described this way:

a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, - Matthew 12:20

For the things God directs us to will edify people, not tear them down.

That doesn’t mean we may not call out sin, particularly in helping lead someone to repentance.

But for the penitent, broken person, our words will be full of grace and truth.

And then only because they are the words of Christ carried through us.

It is easy to be legalistic, judgmental, and abrasive;

Grace takes work.

Peace is hard – that’s why the peacemakers are blessed.

For every time a firm hand is needed in correction, a thousand nurturing hands will have been needed before.

For a child, how many diaper changes and holdings and rocks to sleep and gentle caresses are accomplished before the first spanking?

And how many corrections are avoided by the timely application of gentle guidance in the right direction?

For those who we serve, we serve best when we serve lovingly and graciously.

4. Is what I am praying for going to bring glory ONLY to God?

This is a hard one because very often we will lie to ourselves about this one.

We tell ourself that God will get MOST of the glory, or that God will get glory from our plans.

But we know in our hearts that we might be seen as more pious or more faithful or more loving than others.

That was the problem with Ananias and Sapphira – they were competing with Barnabas rather than just giving their offering generously.

And that quest for glory led them to lie to the Holy Spirit, and they paid with their lives.

I would suggest to you that in considering whether a direction is God’s direction, that we find every possible way to prevent glory to us.

At the very least, give no thought to our own glory or prestige or authority.

But to seek God’s glory alone –

And be entirely content with that.

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