Marks of Maturity Part 6
Notes
Transcript
Handout
[read 1 Thess. 3:9-13]
Review: 1 Thessalonians 1:3
the end of chapter three marks a major section ending with the next major section beginning with chapter four.
Faith, Love, and Hope began the letter and will conclude this first major section of the letter.
remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,
Thesis: The mature believer’s prayers are spoken in faith, plead for love, and hope for Christ’s return.
I. The Prayer of Faith (vv. 9-11)
Notice v.11 - Why is Paul asking God to direct their way to Thessalonica? ...
The answer is back in v.10:
see their face
perfect their faith
A. Prayer for Perfection (vv.9-10)
1. Rhetorical Question (vv. 9-10)
Paul is not asking for input, he is asking the question rhetorically, with the assumed answer being that “there is no way to fully and properly express the joy we have when we consider coming to you to help your faith grow!”
Paul was speechless!!! (Not really…he’s been pouring out his thankfulness in prayer to God and has run out of words!)
This serves as an example for how we should view helping one another grow in faith!
Paul considered this a GREAT privilege! - So should we!
2. Request for Perfection (v.10b)
The Thessalonian Epistles What Is Biblical Perfection?
What Is Biblical Perfection?
There are two main ideas about perfection in the Bible. There is first of all the idea of perfection which is the thought of coming to the end of a journey or the fulfillment of a purpose or a design. It is fulfillment or perfection in the sense, for instance, of a perfect man, one who has grown through boyhood and youth until he has the full stature of a man. He is a perfect man in the sense that he has reached the goal of growth. He is perfect in the sense that he has completed the man. There is another word used for perfection which has the thought of equipment. It means to be completely equipped, in other words, the details are in order. A home, for instance, can be spoken of as being fully equipped. It has everything that a home ought to have: furniture, curtains, rugs, and everything else. It is perfectly equipped. This is what Paul had in mind here.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
B. Prayer for Direction (v.11)
1. The Power: The Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Only Father and Son are named…where is Holy Spirit?....He’s in the “our”...inside of Paul, Silas, and Timothy!
a. Paul acknowledged that only God can overcome the obstacles
b. This is a pattern we can follow in our prayers
Have you ever prayed asking God for His direction?
We often use the phrase, “guide and direct us” when we pray…do we truly want God to direct our steps?
This requires humility.
It requires that we stop directing our own steps and allow Him full control of every decision, of every choice, every step!
2. The Prosecutor: Satan (cf. 1 Thess. 2:18)
The enemy will always be fighting against God’s people and God’s plan.
God expects it, so should we
But God also expects us to ask Him for help!
3. The Purpose: 1 Thess. 3:10
While this is a prayer to build the Thessalonians’ faith, it is also a faith building exercise for Paul & Co. They are choosing to live by faith in order to accomplish what God has asked them to do.
Paul was specific in his prayer request: We should also practice specificity in our prayers!…Let us do away with the generic, blanket statement prayers and be intentional on what we are asking God to do.
Yes, the Holy Spirit will pray for us when we don’t know what to pray, but I contend that is the exception - not the rule. [God wants to hear from YOU!]
Paul was determined to stay on mission.
Sometimes the mission will not just “happen” - it will require PRAYER!
II. The Prayer of Love (v.12)
A. The P ower: the Lord Jesus Christ
Once again, Paul acknowledges that only the Lord can cause love of this magnitude to “increase and abound”.
B. The P urpose: Love
This is agape love! - selfless, sacrificial, surrendered
This is the kind of love that beats in the heart of God Himself
1. This is God’s kind of love (Deut. 7:7-8)
The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples;
but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
paraphrase: “He loves you because He loves you.”
2. This is Christ’s kind of love (1 John 3:16)
By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
“increase” and “abound” are synonyms, both with the idea of “SUPER -ABOUND”
We can NEVER have too much love!
Not just to grow incrementally, but to grow EXPONENTIALLY!
3. This is the Spirit’s kind of love (Gal. 5:22)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
C. The P ersons:
1. Believers (one another)
the “one-anothers” of Scripture
a sign to the unbelievers that we are disciples of Jesus
2. Unbelievers (all)
Sharing God’s love is a tangible action
It means being Jesus’ hands and feet to a hurting and dying world.
this is demonstrative love
D. The P attern: Paul & Co.
Paul , Silvanus, and Timothy set a standard of love while they were in Thessalonica
They were willing to :
continue despite suffering at Philippi
speak despite persecution at Thessalonica
loved like an ideal mother and father
worked as bi-vocational pastors
III. The Prayer of Hope (v.13)
A. The P ower: the Lord Jesus Christ
B. The P lea:
C. The P urpose:
Closing Thoughts:
Mature believers will strive to be “thoroughly equipped” for the Christian life.
Mature believers will strive to love one another in the fullest sense of the word - agape!
This kind of Faith and Love are possible only through the power of the Trinity.
Questions to Consider:
Am I speechless with joy at the thought of building others up in their faith?
Am I looking for ways to agape others?
Am I depending on the power of the Trinity to strengthen me for the task?
Word Study:
“perfect” - katartizō: to complete thoroughly, repair, restore
“direct” - katĕuthunō: to straighten fully, guide
“increase” - plĕŏnazō: to do, make, or be more;
to superabound
“abound” - pĕrissĕuō: to be in excess, superfluous, excel, enough and to spare, over and above
“establish” - stērizō: set fast, turn resolutely in a certain direction
“hearts” - kardia: (fig.) the thoughts or feelings, the mind