The Cost of Discipleship
Notes
Transcript
Parents, teachers, mentors. They all have invested into the lives of others.
Most valuable resources - time and attention. But not just the time they spend with them. Also the time it took to learn the hard way valuable lessons.
There’s no meaningful success without a counterbalance or foundation or effort and sacrifice. We can all work hard and sacrifice. But the value of a mentor, teacher, and parent is that they can show you where that sacrifice is worth it, and where it’s wasted.
Paul wrote two letters to the church at Thessalonica. His passion for them was to see that the sacrifice He knew they would endure for their faith was worth it. That they were working for the right things.
I want to introduce these two letters today. It’ll be a little history lesson, a little overview, and a focused application that Paul shares within the first three verses. That application is as needed for us today as it was for the first century church in Thessalonica
Pray
1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Cost Discipleship
The Cost Discipleship
Paul writes these letters to encourage them: Praying for them; reminding them of the power of their faith; and pointing them toward the ultimate end of their lives - serving God in His Kingdom.
To continue to teach them: Call them to righteousness and love for each other. Remind them that the troubles to come are not a surprise to God. The ‘Man of lawlessness’ will come, but that even the breath of the risen Jesus will utterly destroy him and Satan who is behind him.
To call them to discipleship: To imitate Paul. And to imitate and seek Jesus.
It’s hard to understand these letters without understanding the background of why Paul wrote them. The history.
Second Missionary Journey
Second Missionary Journey
Timothy from Lystra
Timothy from Lystra
1 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.
Macedonian Call and Luke Joins
Macedonian Call and Luke Joins
acts 16:6-10
6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
When Paul finds a church in an area, he encourages them, then moves on.
When He finds a Jewish community with no disciples of Jesus, he first starts teaching from the scriptures at the synagogues, then goes to the non-Jewish people. He either plants a church, or gets run out of town.
When they get to Thessalonica, Timothy has had months to watch Paul sharing the Gospel, reasoning with the Jews, teaching the gentiles, enduring persecution joyfully, establishing leaders, and entrusting local churches to those leaders.
Timothy almost certainly was well beyond just watching. They were in Thessalonica maybe a month, then spent several weeks in Berea. The people of Berea listened to Paul and validated what he said against the scriptures. Things were well on their way until those who opposed them in Thessalonica heard about Paul success in Berea. They came and ran Paul out of Berea.
What happens next is a great story of growth. The brand new churches in Macedonia - Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea - still needed guidance. So, the missionary team split up!
Paul headed out of the region south to Athens then Corinth. But Silas and Timothy stay there. Continuing the training, ministry, and making sure the churches had faithful leaders.
This is the context when Paul writes the letters. He was working in Corinth, establishing that church, but knows how incomplete the churches in Macedonia were. He cares for them. Praying for them. Desiring to know how they are doing.
When Silas and Timothy finally get to Paul in Corinth, they have a good report to share. They are doing well, despite the persecution.
I’m sure that Paul was as happy to hear the report as he was to hear that his protege Timothy was successful on his first work away from Paul.
Paul writes the first letter - and from the very first lines, what’s the Thessalonica church to know Timothy and Silas have made it safe to him.
Let’s read verses 1-3 again
1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We see these three names that would have meant so much to the Thessalonians.
We see the heart of prayer Paul has for them.
But I want to bring us to this first thing Paul calls their attention to.
Work of Faith
Labor of Love
Steadfast Hope
These are so striking to me! They are first things Paul has seen in the report that Silas and Timothy had shared about them. These were what they were doing. But Paul calls these things out in prayer; not only for gratitude for seeing them, but for a desire that they should grow and reproduce.
If you’ve spent time reading your Bible, these should sound familiar. Faith, Hope, and Love… Do you remember another letter with these three?
11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
The letter Paul would write later to the Corinthian church would contain the same refrain from this letter he wrote while in Corinth. But where Paul ties these in the first letter to the Corinthians to the final place of hope for Christians - worshiping God for ever in His presence - in the first letter to the Thessalonians, he anchors it in the here and now.
Notice the contrast.
WORK <-> FAITH
LABOR <-> LOVE
STEADFAST <-> HOPE
Those first words sound kinda un-fun. Who wants those?? Give me the faith, love, and hope!
But Paul reminds this church he worked hard to establish, that he suffered to develop, and that he trusted others to mature - he reminds them that the reward can’t come before the work.
WORK <-> FAITH
And so for us. Do you want the reward of faith in Jesus? we must exercise our faith.
We do NOT need to work to be accepted by God.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Salvation is a free gift of God - offered openly for us to believe. And believing, we WILL receive eternal life. But Paul is reminding them that there is a greater reward for those who work their faith.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Faith is something that first works in us. But then we must work in our faith.
LABOR <-> LOVE
Love is great. Love is freeing. Love is connection, laughing, a warm heart.
But without work, love is just selfish.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
The labor of love has no limits or limitations. God calls for all our love. And that means we hold nothing off limits from Him - our time, talents, and resources are His. Our thoughts, desires, and hopes are pointed to Him.
We wont have that right. But keeping those corrected is the labor we are called to.
STEADFAST <-> HOPE
I imagine a tree. The tops of the branches are hope. Reaching, striving. Sun shining, and closer tomorrow than today.
And so should we strain towards God’s good pleasure in our lives. So should we desire God’s rule and reign in the lives of people.
But the tree will fall over without the roots. Grabbing tenaciously in the dirt and mud and rocks. Roots don’t need to be seen to be essential. Roots draw water. Roots anchor. Roots provide stability.
So with the steadfast half of the equation of hope. Without steadfastness, hope is just a wish. Or wishy-washy.
22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?
If what we hoped for was at hand, we would not need to be steadfast in it now. But what we desire is still far off.
Desiring God’s loving presence, we are surrounded by a sinful world, and so we are steadfast in hope.
Wanting to be free from our own sin, but still in this body that’s bound to it, we are steadfast in hope.
Holding to the promise of a returning ,victorious Jesus, but waking up again in our own Groundhog Day of brokenness, we are steadfast in hope.
For...
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Paul writes to the Thessalonians with joy and with yearning.
Joy that they have settled well into their faith. Not being pushed away with difficulties. Joy that they continue to proclaim the Good News of God to a lost world.
But he writes with a yearning that they should remain in the faith. That they should continue in the ‘now’ with their desire and goal to a future glory in the presence of God.
May we hear those same calls. When life is hard, when we are pushed and pulled. May we continue in that faith, hope, and love that Jesus first showed us.
Pray
