He is Coming! 1 Thessalonians 3

Intro

letter from the Apostle Paul to a young church

Encourage them through persecution

Remind them of the hope of Christ’s return

Chapter 3 picks up where 2 left off

transitions into a new focus in chapter 4

1 Thessalonians 3:1–2 ESV

Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith,

Establishing Timothy

Paul goes to Athens

wants to know how the church is doing

sends Timothy

young and inexperienced

Paul identifies him as equal to Paul in authority

World sees young; Paul sees potential

Who is someone that is young, that you can draw out their potential?

Continuing with verse 3

1 Thessalonians 3:3–5 ESV

that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.

Strength in Persecution

Timothy is sent to ensure no one is moved

Greek word relates to the wagging of a tail

hardship can cause someone who is unsettled in faith to lose heart

Paul also speaks of someone being tempted

it isn’t always persecution that causes drifting; it can also be falttery

Both are schemes of the devil

The second is the most dangerous in our society

flattery leads to us getting dooped into a a feel good gospel

it all begins with the lie, “Did God really say?”

If we don’t know the true answer to that question, soon a lie replaces the truth, and we begin to take heart in a line of reasoning that is no longer biblical

So what did Paul discover from Timothy?

1 Thessalonians 3:6–10 ESV

But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you— for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith. For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord. For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?

Timothy’s Report

Timothy returns to Paul with a good report

Despite Paul’s concern, the church is strong

Persecution has not caused them to lose heart

What kind of report would you receive?

a believer you haven’t seen in a while meets up with you

they begin checking in on your relationship with Christ and your involvement in church

would they walk away seeing growth, would they see decline, or maybe you’ve simply become stagnant

now we will all have seasons of all three, but do we recognize them when they happen and do we course correct?

how self aware about your spiritual health are you?

how sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s prompting are you to get you out of your ruts?

The chapter ends with this prayer from Paul for the church

1 Thessalonians 3:11–13 ESV

Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

Paul’s Prayer for the Church

Paul prays of the 3 things for the church

that God would direct their ways

that they would increase and abound in love for each other and for all

that God would establish their hearts blameless in holiness

blameless at Christ’s return

last week we talked about that day when we stand before Christ and offer the thing we will be most proud of, the thing we accomplished for him

this week is a slightly different angle

what is the thing we are going to try to hide?

If we are active in repentance and living a spirit led life, there won’t be anything to hide. We can stand with our head held high

but if we tolerate sin in our life, and we entertain those things that are contrary to Christ’s teaching, we are going to stand before Christ and hope he doesn’t find out

Of course, most of us know we can’t hide anything from Christ, but sometimes we live like we’re going to get away with something

which brings us to Communion

Communion

Paul wrote to the Corinthians that we could take Communion in an unworthy manner

we need to examine ourselves so that we avoid judgment

so just before we partake in communion, let us take a moment and allow the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts and let us repent from any unworthy thing

don’t try to hide anything. If we are willing to let it all go, we will experience the freedom and joy that is available for all who call Jesus Lord and Savior

Jesus took the bread

Jesus took the cup

Let’s Pray