The Gospel Leads God's People to Give Thanks

Introduction

As we prepare our hearts for Thanksgiving in just a few days, it’s important to pause and reflect on all the reasons we have to be thankful. In a world that seems to get crazier and a schedule that seems to get busier, we have to pause and reflect on all that our God has done, and most of all, who our God is. Consider some of the top reasons that our world says to give thanks for:

Health

Family

Jobs

Money

Pets

Cars

Houses

Friendships

These are good things and it is good to give thanks to God for His common grace and provision in our lives with relationships, safety, health, and security. But think about how frequently these things change! Health comes and goes. Family members pass away. Jobs don’t always satisfy or provide. Money is worth less than it used to be. Things don’t always come through. Friends move. If our basis for thanksgiving is determined by the things we have, we might be miserable this week. However, as Christians, we know that the basis of our thanksgiving is primarily in WHO our God is and WHAT our God has done for us - those things don’t ever change, therefore, the basis of our thanksgiving never changes either! It is so important for us, this week and every week, to give thanks to God for the good news of Jesus Christ. This is what we see over and over again in God’s Word and this is such an appropriate text for us tonight in 1 Thessalonians 3 as we continue to walk through this text and see how the Gospel leads God’s people to give thanks!

1 Thessalonians 3 CSB

1 Therefore, when we could no longer stand it, we thought it was better to be left alone in Athens. 2 And we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you concerning your faith, 3 so that no one will be shaken by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we told you in advance that we were going to experience affliction, and as you know, it happened. 5 For this reason, when I could no longer stand it, I also sent him to find out about your faith, fearing that the tempter had tempted you and that our labor might be for nothing. 6 But now Timothy has come to us from you and brought us good news about your faith and love. He reported that you always have good memories of us and that you long to see us, as we also long to see you. 7 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and affliction, we were encouraged about you through your faith. 8 For now we live, if you stand firm in the Lord. 9 How can we thank God for you in return for all the joy we experience before our God because of you, 10 as we pray very earnestly night and day to see you face to face and to complete what is lacking in your faith? 11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone, just as we do for you. 13 May he make your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Amen.

We Can Give Thanks In Suffering Because We Suffer Together (1-5)

If you remember back to Acts 17, we talked about Paul’s initial visit to Thessalonica and the power of the Gospel message. How some people responded positively to the Gospel whereas others responded negatively and rioted in order to kick Paul and his companions out of the city. From here, Paul travels to Berea where he preaches the Gospel and many people responded positively to the Gospel as well. The Bereans were very serious and noble as they examined everything Paul and his companions said and compared it to Scripture to make sure that what they were saying was in line with God’s Word - as a side note, this is what we should always do as Christians!

If you look down to Acts 17:13, though, you see that there is opposition again as the Jews from Thessalonica found out that Paul was preaching the Gospel 45 miles west and they began to travel to Berea and stir up another crowd of violence which led Paul to Athens. This isn’t good news for Paul or those sharing the Gospel, but we see that Paul was not alone in this regard. There were others with him to share that burden.

We see the phrase, “When we could no longer stand it” show up twice here. Paul was frustrated by Satan’s attacks as we saw last week in 1 Thessalonians 2:17-20. He wanted to return and see these believers but he couldn’t do so. If you look in Acts 17, we see what Paul outlines for his associates

Acts 17:14–15 CSB

14 Then the brothers and sisters immediately sent Paul away to go to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed on there. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving instructions for Silas and Timothy to come to him as quickly as possible, they departed.

What’s happening here? Paul leaves Silas and Timothy in Berea while he goes to Athens. Silas and Timothy then go to Thessalonica to encourage the believers there and to strengthen their faith with the purpose that their faith would not be shaken. Whenever a problem arises, we’re tempted to be weakened… and we need to be strengthened. Paul was afraid that this situation and the boldness of the enemy and their constant attacks would hurt this church so he sends Timothy to strengthen them and to help them stand firm on God’s Word (after all, they’ve only been saved for a few weeks time). The second verb in verse 2 is encourage. We all are in need of encouragement from time to time, aren’t we? This word shows up often in 1 Thessalonians as Christians need to be encouraged by the Word of God, first, and by one another, second. This is doubly true whenever persecution is on the rise as it was for these believers. This is yet another reason why we need one another in the church. We need one another to strengthen our faith and to encourage us whenever life knocks us down. This is especially what ministers of the Gospel are “appointed” to do. That’s not a fun thought, but it’s the reality as we read in God’s Word that is has been granted on Christ’s behalf that we not only believe but that we suffer as well.

Meanwhile, Paul goes down to Athens. Is Paul on vacation in Athens? Is he sending his associate pastor to the Southern Baptist Convention Meeting so that he can go to Disney World - you laugh, but I promise you this will happen in a few years when the SBC is in Orlando. Not at all! Athens and its universities were the Harvard and Yale’s of our day. This would have been a very intelligent crowd that Paul was preparing to speak to. Paul was a genius and he was a good speaker, but if there were a time in which Paul would have greatly benefited from having help, it would be here in Athens. Yet, Paul sends his right hand man to Thessalonica to “strengthen and encourage them.” I love what Mark Howell notes in his commentary on 1 Thessalonians as he says, “Paul was willing to adjust his plans to accomplish God’s plans.” This is what believers do, is it not? However, it can be so easy to stay focused only on our needs and wants that we miss out on what God is doing and what He wants to do in the world around us. As Christians, sometimes we have to put our wants and plans later and put the needs of others before our own.

Not only did Paul send his helper to Thessalonica, but he lived with a mindset bigger than his own world. His focus wasn’t strictly on his comforts or context, he was concerned with the work that God was accomplishing throughout the capital C church all around him and it was of better use of resources for Timothy to be sent to this church and to help this congregation.

Several years ago, I learned about a missionary named John Paton who was a missionary to the New Hebrides Islands in the mid 1800s. Many people in his life told he and his wife not to go to this location because the villagers were known cannibals. Yet, as we’ve talked about in the past, they were obedient to God’s call on their life and went to these islands. While they were there, Paton’s wife passed away. A week after her passing, his son died as well. Paton, though, remained obedient to God’s call and returned after a short time away, with his new wife. They were there for 40+ years and shared the love of Jesus with these cannibals. Fast forward nearly 150 years and 75-80% of the inhabitants identify as being Christians. The Paton’s knew that their life would not be an easy one but they knew that it was what they were supposed to do. In other words, they knew that the rewards awaiting them in heaven trumped the sacrifices they made here on earth. This is true of many missionaries as you read of their biographies!

Paul knew that truth as well. He sacrificed his comforts and his friend in a time of need so that this church could have a leader and encourager. His comforts were secondary to the needs of this church. Because of this, he was willing to suffer.

Likewise, we know that we continue to suffer in some capacity as followers of Christ. While we have the Holy Spirit inside of us, we know that things like persecution, difficulty and suffering continue to exist. As one pastor puts it, the question is not “Will I face trouble? But, how will I respond when I face trouble?”

We all will face trouble and we see that this church was facing trouble and they were tempted to be shaken and deceived. When we face trouble, what should we do? As Christians who belong to a local church, we know that we have brothers and sisters who are there for us. Because of this, we don’t have to suffer alone, we suffer together! We bear one another’s burdens. Paul sends Timothy back and we see in verse 3 that this was done so that these believers would not be shaken by temptation and opposition. One commentator puts it like this, “A prepared soldier is never surprised when the enemy attacks.” Paul knew that the enemy would attack and he wanted these Christians to stand their ground - likewise, we know that we will suffer and have difficulty, but as Christians who are a part of the local church, we have one another to suffer with.

Paul told these believers that affliction was going to come to him and for them as well. When suffering comes, what will you do? Satan would love for us to worry more about internal things and to distract us from our mission to share the Gospel than for us to be focused and care more about our mission than our disagreements. Don’t underestimate your enemy and don’t overestimate your own strength. You need help. I need help. We need one another and this is the purpose of the church. To come together and bear one another’s burdens and to suffer together. As we studied this morning, we need the church. We need to do things God’s way because that’s the only way that we will stand in a godless and crazy world.

We Can Give Thanks Because We Stand Together (6-10)

We suffer together, but as a church our hope is that through the Word of God, we can stand together and in standing together on the Word of God, we give thanks. Earlier this year we were able to send a team to Guatemala and after doing ministry work, building homes, leading VBS and doing lots of other things on the ground, there was a decent amount of money left over that we had the ability to use to bless the ministry at Salt and Light Ministries. One of the things that we chose to do was to give money for the local pastors and ministry staff so that they could have an outing together and encourage one another without the stress of a bill waiting for them. Kirk and Alex, two of our missionaries in Guatemala that we work with and support, have a network of pastors and churches in villages near Chimaltenango that they partner with on a regular basis, and we’ve gotten to know one of the pastors named Wilfredo. From the first time I got to see him, I connected with him as he had only been at his church for about 3 months longer than I had been here at FBC Salem. He and his wife have a little boy about the same age as Gabriel. He’s a faithful minister and it’s so cool to watch how the Lord is using him in this small mountainous community! Wilfredo, and several other pastors met with Kirk and Alex and their families and they were able to enjoy a meal and talk about the struggles they’ve been facing in their respective communities and, just as is the case in the United States, these pastors were facing many of the same problems! They shared victories and struggles and Alex went to pay using some of the money that our team and several other teams had left behind, and whenever he went to pay for their bill the worker notified him that another person had already paid for the meals of the 10 pastors and family members! Now, in our country maybe that’s a bit of a hit… $200 or so isn’t nothing but it’s also not impossible for many of us. However, in Guatemala, this bill was going to be roughly half a month’s salary even for someone with a well-paying job. This was going to be a significant bill! Lo and behold, a woman was sitting nearby and heard their ministry stories and paid the bill. This was a tremendous blessing to hear! Now, God is always faithful regardless of the result, but this was an awesome reminder for our brothers and sisters in Guatemala to continue sharing the Gospel and doing what God had called them to do. This was refreshing for us to hear stateside how these brothers are remaining faithful to the Lord, even through they’re enduring hardships financially and socially.

It’s encouraging to receive good news, isn’t it? This is where Paul is at here in Athens. Timothy had returned, finally, and brought with him good news of the faithfulness of this church! This church was standing firm on the Gospel and their faith was shining in the darkness. It’s hard to stand up when you stand by yourself. These believers were young in their faith, they had only been saved for a short period of time. They were persecuted. They were afflicted. They were under distress. Their friend and mentor was kicked out of town and a long ways away. Yet, they continued to let their light for Jesus shine. How could they do this? Think back to Hebrews 13:5

Hebrews 13:5 CSB

5 Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.

What a wonderful promise in difficult times to remember that Jesus is always with His followers. Think through Paul’s life and ministry, the man was familiar with suffering and adversity, yet he continued to trust in the Lord and to live a life marked by thanksgiving. He recognized that God was at work in all that he went through as Philippians 2:13 says

Philippians 2:13 CSB

13 For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.

This includes adversity. The fact that this church was young and staying strong and faithful encouraged Paul. This must be our response to God’s Word as well - whenever the Word is proclaimed faithfully as it was for this church, God’s people are to respond obediently! This is our call as well. To be a people who stand together on the Word of God and who don’t waver whenever adversity strikes as we know that it will. As we look around at a sinking world, we can give thanks that God is holding us fast as we stand united on His Word. It should be an encouragement to others whenever we see people remaining faithful through affliction. As we live our life individually and as a corporate body, our goal should be to be faithful - not necessarily popular or contemporary or traditional or old fashioned or new fashioned or special… just faithful. Our only hope of doing this is to stand firm in the Lord. Paul loves this church and desires to return to them to teach them even more so that they can continue to grow in their walk with the Lord as verse 10 shares with us.

We Can Give Thanks Because We’re Being Sanctified Together (11-13)

We know that whenever we are saved and we stand on the Word, we will grow to become more like Jesus and less like our old selves. This is the process of sanctification. Think of salvation like a timeline. You have been saved in the past tense whenever you were born again and the blood of Jesus was credited to your account and you have been eternally saved from the penalty of sin! This is justification. We know that one day we will be saved from the very presence of sin as we stand in glory with our Savior and spend eternity with Him. This is glorification and what a day that’s going to be! What about today? Today we’re in this in-between. We’ve already been saved from the penalty of sin, but we’re not yet saved from the presence of sin as we face sin and temptation every single day. We’re already saved but we’re not yet home. What happens today in our lives individually and in the life of this church as born again Christians gather to do life with one another and glorify Jesus and stand on His Word? We progressively become more like Jesus. We can put it like this, we are being saved today by God’s power from the power of sin in our lives. This is the process of dying to self, taking up our cross, and following our Christ. This is sanctification. This is Paul’s final prayer for this church in chapter 3. He prays that the Lord would increase their love for others and make their hearts blameless in holiness. This should be our prayer for one another in this church, shouldn’t it? That the Lord would help us love one another better. That we would grow in holiness. That we would look more like Jesus next year than we did this year. As we look to our left and right tonight, we can give thanks to God because we’re growing in this journey together.

How can we grow in sanctification in 2024? How can our love for others increase? How can we be blameless in holiness? How can we grow in our understanding of the Word? How can we make a dent in Dent County for God’s glory one life at a time next year? I mentioned several this morning that we’ll reflect on throughout the new year.

If Jesus has saved us, we should:

Desire to Gather Together

Desire to Get Into the Word

Desire to Go To Our Father in Prayer

Desire to Give Sacrificially

Desire to Gain Eternal Rewards, Not Temporary Ones

This should be our prayer for others as well, but it must start by becoming our prayer for ourself. If I am saved, I should grow to be more like Jesus. This is sanctification and that takes place personally in my walk with the Lord, but that cannot take place divorced from the bride of Christ as the New Testament picture is for Christians to gather and grow together. My prayer must be that I would grow in the Word, in spending time with the Father in prayer, in giving sacrificially to the ministry that He is doing in and through this church. I polled a group of pastors this week to see where their respective churches are at financially and nearly 150 pastors responded. A good number are celebrating and a good number are surviving - but God is working through it all. My prayer for our church in 2024 is that we would desire to obey and pray as we talked about this morning, and as we do those two things faithfully, that we would see God continue to do exceedingly above and beyond all that we ask or think as Paul prayed for the church in Ephesus in Ephesians 3:20. I want to do more ministry in 2024. I want to see more people come to faith in Jesus Christ. I want to see a dent in the lost population of Dent County not for the fame of FBC, but for the glory of God and the eternal good of this community. How will that happen? Obedience to the Word and prayerfulness of this church to be sensitive to do what God calls on us to do. We must gather, get into the Word, go to our Father in prayer, give sacrificially, and live to gain eternal rewards, not temporary ones. This must be our goal - that we would grow to be more like Jesus one day at a time, knowing that He is coming back and knowing that until He does, He has a job for each one of us and for this church. As one commentator put it, “We are not architects for our kingdom; we are ambassadors for His.” Let’s strive to be a people who point others to the Kingdom of God! Let’s be a thankful people as we reflect on all that God has done in our own life this year, all that He has done in the life of this church, and most of all, let’s give thanks because of Who He is. He is our Savior, Sustainer, Creator, King, Father, Friend, and He’s coming back again!