The Church's Fellowship and Love (1 Thessalonians 2:17 - 4:12)

INTRO

In 1773, the young pastor of a poor church in Wainsgate, England, was called to a large and influential church in London. John Fawcett was a powerful preacher and writer, and these skills had brought him this opportunity. But as the wagons were being loaded with the Fawcetts’ few belongings, their people came for a tearful farewell.

During the good-byes, Mary Fawcett cried, “John, I cannot bear to leave!” “Nor can I,” he replied. “We shall remain here with our people.” The wagons were unloaded, and John Fawcett spent his entire fifty-four-year ministry in Wainsgate.

Out of that experience, Fawcett wrote the beautiful hymn, “Blest Be the Tie that Binds.”

“Blest Be The Tie That Binds” by John Fawcett

1 Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love; the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.

2 Before our Father's throne we pour our ardent prayers; our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, our comforts and our cares.

3 We share our mutual woes, our mutual burdens bear, and often for each other flows the sympathizing tear.

4 When we are called to part, it gives us inward pain; but we shall still be joined in heart, and hope to meet again.

5 This glorious hope revives our courage by the way; while each in expectation lives and waits to see the day.

6 From sorrow, toil, and pain, and sin, we shall be free; and perfect love and friendship reign through all eternity.

What do you usually think of when you think of fellowship? Is it just the potluck dinners or do you realize that a church’s fellowship is a significant part of our spiritual warfare as we carry out God’s mission and find opposition from Satan?

Let’s talk about the church’s fellowship and love today. 3 major topics today: The Church’s Link, Satan’s Limitation, and God Loved.

The Church’s Link

There is to be a fellowship among believers, linked together and working in strength and power like a mighty chain made up of many links. A sturdy chain can be very useful, and every link is important in the task.

Bike chain— if one link is bent or broken, the whole chain is affected. It will fall off the cogs of the gears and won’t propel the bike. We need to understand, like Paul...

The Agony of Separation

“Torn away” (ESV) (NIV); Taken from you (KJV); Taken Away (NAS);

GR.--> ἀπορφανίζω aporphanízō

“Torn away” in the ESV.

Meaning= “orphaned”

Strong language!

Interesting is that Paul just used motherly and fatherly illustrations of church leadership in this writing; now uses a sense of children being orphaned- in this, he is illustrating the family-like bond within the church.

“in person not in heart”

The separation was only physical, not lacking in genuine concern for the people still.

Paul desired to be with them again

Do you feel the same when you’re away from your church family?

Why is fellowship so important? Why do we bond together? Think of it in this way:

The Joy in Presenting One Another in Faithfulness Before the Lord

Look at how Paul felt about the Church--

V.19-20 Pauls says the Thessalonians are his joy and glory- they are the offering Paul will lay before the Lord, like crowns.

Almost like a sense of pride, like look what we’ve done! Look at the faithful. Look at the ones we led to the Lord.

Do you see the concern Paul had for the Church? Do you have that kind of concern and care for one another. Do you look at others and think “I need to be faithful so I help present you to the Lord one day”?

He is so concerned about them that he sends Timothy and writes back to them to make sure they are not straying from the Gospel.

Satan’s Limitation

Paul wanted to be with the Thessalonians, but V.18-- “Satan hindered us.” Satan tries to limit the Church and its mission. What is one way he can do that?

Let me make maybe a bold statement: Satan detests the fellowship of the Church. Because when we are in fellowship, our hearts and minds are united in the mission of God, we are convicted and encouraged toward repentance and righteousness, and when we are focused on Christ, we will be victorious because He is the Victor!

The exact way Satan hindered them is not explained, but we can take a good guess at what it might be:

In the context of 3:1-5, we know persecution was strong against them. That’s why Paul left; maybe that’s why he wasn’t able to go back.

“afflictions… we are destined for this.”

“and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:17–18, ESV)

“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” (2 Timothy 3:12, ESV)

“who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.” (Mark 10:30, ESV)

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (1 Peter 4:12–13, ESV)

Suffering and trials will come to believers.

Paul knew that Satan could derail the work of the church. —3:5—feared that their labor could be in vain.

But their fellowship strengthens them against Satan’s temptations and derailment of God’s mission.

Satan would love to limit the power of the Church by hindering fellowship.

Even now, as many have not gathered for months, what habits are being formed? How will churches come out of this?

The Church is to be strongly linked together, and Satan will try to limit the Church, BUT...

God Loves

1 Thess. 3:6-10 — Timothy’s Report

Paul is happy to hear of their faith and love. If you look into this, do you notice what is missing that has been included in Paul’s common triad? Hope.

Paul is grateful for their progress (v.10), especially in how they have exhibited faith and love, but there is still some teaching to do, especially since Paul was taken away from them so soon. Maybe the Thessalonians were losing hope, or just didn’t understand the hope they would have through Christ’s return and their eternal life.

They are being persecuted but were not taught much yet about the return of Christ.

They might have been wondering if it was worth the suffering.

The letter is taking time to acknowledge their faith and love, but starting halfway through chapter 4, it shifts to hope.

1 Thess. 3:11-13 — Paul’s Pastoral Prayer, where he concludes this section praying that:

a. He can revisit the people (v.11)

b. The Thessalonians will abound in love (v.12)

c. Their lives would result in holiness at Jesus’ second coming (v.13)

Specifically, he calls the believers to sexual purity, and actually connects sexual immorality to a hatred of others—sinning against others (4:6)—it’s a transgression against a brother.

There very well could have been sexual influences and practices associated with the pagan religions around them, which would warrant this teaching from Paul.

We Love Because We Are Loved by God

But there’s something more in the context here of loving and letting their love increase. As much as we talk about love, there is something really profound about love that we must talk about.

It’s simple, but can be profound.

Go back to 1:4-- “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,” (1 Thessalonians 1:4, ESV)

God loves you and has chosen you— do you realize how profound those words were? God loves you was a whole new concept to a world filled with pagan gods.

Most religions still in our world focus on people being able to better themselves. The views of God out there, if there is an acknowledgement of a god at all, are usually one who punishes those who don’t perform a certain way.

Even today:

Hindus acknowledge multitudes of gods and goddesses.

Buddhists say there is no deity.

New Age Spirituality followers believe they are God.

Muslims believe in a powerful God but one mainly of judgement who rewards you for eternity based upon what you did on earth.

Christians believe a loving God who created us to know him and who are loved by Him.

Think about this in a port city where philosophies and ideas are freely flowing— you can hear that God created you and loves you.

We might take those words for granted, but a person who grew up trying to earn favor with some false god, or who has lived with feelings of condemnation all of his life because he was never good enough— to the person whose soul has gone dry from their quest to transform himself— these words are life!

Many today live that same way— they develop their identity based upon what others think about them, or how they perform —whether they are good enough. They try to satisfy themselves with anything that will bring some kind of pleasure and dull the pain of their suffering because they think that life depends on their abilities to transform themselves.

And yet, if they just knew that— they could gaze upon the glory of Christ and experience through His death and resurrection the satisfaction that they’ve always longed for.

I don’t have to get others to love me enough. I don’t have love myself to a certain degree to prove my worth. No, God, my Creator, loves me and has chosen me.

You will find all of your worth in the truth that God loves you.

And we know that the Thessalonians loved others. They loved others because God loved them. That is transformational!

“We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19, ESV)

The Church is to be linked, but Satan will try to limit its power. But God loved. And because He loved, we can love. We can maintain the proper fellowship we are to have, and encourage one another in the power of the Holy Spirit to continue to push back the forces of darkness in this world as we tell people about Jesus, the light of the world.

We have a genuine fellowship with God because He loved us and gave himself for us.

Salvation.

We have a genuine fellowship with one another that is to be marked by love because of what Christ did in bringing us together through His shed blood.

Satan detests fellowship. Let’s not give him a foothold to distract us from living out God’s Mission.