1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

As we read this text this morning, it is a reminder that it is hard to be apart from the people that we love.

We have all had times where we have had to travel or be away and we miss our friends and our family.

Thankfully, many of us can pick up our cellphones and send a text message or a snapchat. You can do facetime or some other kind of video call. Yet, it’s still not the same.

Imagine Paul who wanted to visit his friends and fellow believers in Thessalonica, but he couldn’t get away. All he could do was send letters that might take days or weeks to travel—a lot different than a text message, an email, or even a regular letter that we might send today.

Now, if someone you love is far away from you, what do you want for them? You want them to be healthy and well. Even though they might miss you too, you want them to be happy.

As we read in the previous verses, Paul loved the church in Thessalonica. He wanted to see them grow in faith. When he hadn’t heard from them in a while, he sent Timothy to go see them. When he heard that they had persevered and stayed in faith, Paul writes

1 Thessalonians 3:9 NIV

How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?

1 Thessalonians 3:

Now, I wonder why we should care about this text? Verses 12-13 are helpful, but they mean a lot more when we have read the entire section of this letter. It helps us understand what Paul is really hoping to see and experience

As Paul longs to visit these Christians he hopes that they grow in:

Abundant love for all.

1 Thessalonians 4:12 NIV

so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

1 Thessalonians 3:12 NIV

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.

1 Thessalonians

This is how I think that this text applies to you as young women and girls. There will come a day that you will graduate from high school, or college, and someday and you will move out of your parents’ house.

Your parents see this time coming a lot quicker than you do. For you, a year seems like forever, because you’re excited for what’s next. Moms and Dad, while we want to see the best for you, often wish that things would slow down a little bit. It seems that only a year or two we took you home in a baby car seat and now you are getting ready to graduate, or go into junior high. We see you growing up so fast.

What do you think your parents want for you?

We want you to succeed. We want you to have good friends. We want you to discover and develop your gifts—in and outside of school.

And, if parents truly want to see what is best for you, the most important thing that they do is show you, teach you, and pray for you, so that you will be growing in faith and understanding more and more that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior.

This is what God wants for you, too. God loves us more than we can know and he wants us to grow in love for Him, as well as learn to love for fellow Christians, and even love for those who don’t yet believe.

Our earthly parents want you to be good, caring, and thoughtful. I am guessing that was a theme in your GEMS lessons as well. The same thing for our heavenly Father. Like a parent, he wants us to love, and to grow into the people that he created us to be—to love, to be good, caring, and thoughtful.

Just to let you know, we all need to hear that message and be reminded of it. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in what I need and what I want, that we can only focus on ourselves. When we focus only on ourselves, we’ll never be satisfied. When we start to focus on trying to help others be better and be happy, we see the benefit of that ourselves. So how do we grow in love?

We need....

Strong hearts to be blameless and holy.

Loving others doesn’t just happen. You need to practice. You need to exercise. You need to strengthen your hearts.

Paul prays for the Thessalonian Christians...

1 Thessalonians 3:13 NIV

May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

1 Thessalonians

What does a strong heart look like? If we talk about a strong physical heart, it is a heart that beats and pumps so that you can run, play, and compete. A heart that is tired, out of shape, or isn’t functioning the way it should limits you from being able to do all things you’d like to do.

It takes exercise and attention, like any other muscle, for the heart to grow stronger. You do some of that exercise on your own. Other times you have a coach, an exercise partner, or sometimes maybe even a doctor to help you strengthen your heart. After time and effort, you find that you get stronger, feel healthier, and you can do more.

God wants to strengthen your spiritual heart, too. God gives us what we need to get stronger. He gave us Jesus, who was able to take our hearts and wash them clean when he died and rose again for us. God also gave us his Holy Spirit, who dwells in our hearts.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NIV

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

1 Corinthians 6:19 NIV

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

He also gave us the Bible, which tells us about Jesus and was inspired by the Holy Spirit. It tells the story of how much God loves us, but also shows us how we are supposed to live.

Colossians 3:12 NIV

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

What does this get us? It makes everyday that God gives us in this life a better one. It makes the happy times even happier, because we know that we are loved by God. It helps us stay strong and to persevere when there are tough times.

You know that God is at your side with you, building you up and strengthening you. It doesn’t mean that things are easy—in the text, some of the Thessalonians faced tough times—but the comfort was that God strengthened them and helped them stay faithful.

Ultimately, God does this so we can be...

Ready to be in Jesus’ presence.

I look at all of you and I see a bunch of potential. I see a bunch of great students, who have only begun to tap into your potential. Wherever God calls you to be, I know that he has equipped you with the talents and gifts you need to succeed.

While I don’t know you all, I know that you are growing in your love of Jesus, that you’re kind, and that you show love to your friends and family and you are kind to people that you might not even know. Somedays it might be hard. Sometimes we forget and we aren’t the people Jesus wants to see. I’m thankful that Jesus is working in your hearts. Keep it up. Keep growing in love. Keep working with Jesus to strengthen your hearts.

Because, finally, someday, we are going to have the joy and privilege of seeing Jesus face to face. With your abundant love and strong hearts, you will remember that Jesus has made you blameless and holy in the presence of God the Father.

There will be day when Jesus comes again, with the angels and all who have ever lived and we are going to join with them. Paul and Timothy are going to be in that crowd too. Some people from Thessalonica will be there too. It will be a joyful and happy day, because even though God has always been with us, we will be even closer than we can imagine today.

All that time, God and all believers, including moms and dads, GEMS counselors, teachers, grandpas and grandmas, and our friends in Jesus have been eager to see us continue to grow in love and that our spiritual hearts might be strengthened. Get ready for that day!