1 Thess 3 - The Life of Faith and Love

Introduction

What are some thing that you highly value?

I think that it is probably true to say that everyone has a few things that they value highly… and they protect and care for them and they try to grow not diminish those things.

Now it is true that for some people that may simply be the three cigarettes they found in a discarded packet last night.

But they do value them and protect them… and woe betide anyone who takes them!

For most it will be more valuable things.

It might be leisure, or work… it may be their home or car… or body and health… their family and relationships.

For those that value their bodies they try to get enough exercise and the right diet etc… but others happy to make life difficult for their bodies by not caring… and filling it with cigarettes, alcohol and junk food.

Others value their bank account and reputation… but that comes at the expense of family and leisure.

People organise their lives and invest their time and money in things they value.

It is interesting that the Apostle Paul has revealed to us what he values.

True he makes it abundantly clear that he values God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

He values the gospel of Jesus

He also highly values God’s people.

Paul loves the people in the church of Thessalonica.

He values them, and he is worried sick about them… but his concern is specific.

He’s not asking about their general health, are they getting enough exercise and sleep and good food. He’s not concerned about their employment… he’s concerned about their faith.

Look at what he writes about the people in the church.

Look at what he says,

1 Thessalonians 3:2–5 (NIV84)

2 We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know. 5 For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.

1 Thessalonians 3:6–10 (NIV84)

6 But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you. 7 Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. 8 For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. 9 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? 10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.

Paul had walked into Thessalonica and proclaimed the gospel and formed what could rightly be called not simply a church but a faith community.

That faith is the foundation and core of that church community.

They lose that faith they lose Christianity out of that community.

The Christian community with a vibrant, alive, functioning faith is a functioning, turn the world the right way up, God glorifying community.

But lose their faith, and they lose their function, lose their God glorifying… ultimately, if faith is not regained… they lose everything.

Are we a faith community? Are you a person of faith?

It seems obvious to me that to Paul a person’s faith was the most valuable, vulnerable, precious thing a Christian has.

Yet how long is it since you were asked, “How is your faith?” Is it strong or weak, flourishing or floundering.

How is your faith in Jesus and the gospel?

I’m assuming that to one degree or another there are at least some things in your life at the moment that really suck… but you came to church today because you value Christ and his gospel and know that God loves and cares for you because of verses like Jn 3:16 and because you understand the cross was a personal act of God through Jesus for you?

That’s a strong faith.... especially if life really is very difficult for you at the moment.

I’m assuming you’re not in church this morning because you wonder of God really cares and you’ve been reading your Bible more lately and trying to pray more and you hope that if you add church in perhaps God will make your life all aligned and rosey again?

That’s a weak faith.

Faith - Broad definition

Let’s think briefly about this thing called Christian faith.

Where does it come from?

How is it nurtured?

Why is it vulnerable?

The Christian faith community in Thessalonica had been formed when Paul visited there...

Acts 17:2–4 NIV84

2 As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,” he said. 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.

Here’s the first thing!

Christian faith is not something you “work up”; it’s not simply a choice a human being makes to believe in God.

The origin of Faith is from God… who gifts it to his people.

Ephesians 2:8–9 (NIV84)

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

Christian faith is a matter of trusting God to give you something when you surrender to him.

It’s a realisation that despite our best efforts in life… we have fallen short and are not acceptable to God.

Then someone does for us what Paul did in Thessalonica… explains Christ had to suffer and die and rise from the dead to put us right with God.

And instead of fighting (or maybe after a long time of fighting) we surrender to God.

And then, every day until we go to be with Jesus or he comes to us, every day, sometimes 10 times a day, it’s a giving yourself over to the gospel and trusting, sometimes despite evidence to the contrary, that you’re in right relationship with God and destined for eternal glory.

Just imagine you had been feeling sick for a while… notice a significant decrease in energy. It gets worse and worse. Eventually you can no longer work or walk. You can’t fight off infections… you realise you’re as good as dead.

You eventually yield to reality and go to visit your doctor.

Your doctor tell you you need a new heart.

You realise that he’s just told you, that you need something that for you that is totally impossible. You cannot find, manufacture or fit a new heart in yourself.

You are entirely dependent on others.

Finally the doctors say they have found a donor heart… and with this heart beating in your chest you can have life.

Your part is to allow the new heart to be put into your body.

You don’t deserve it. You don’t merit it. It’s not that the donor was less worthy and should die so you could live!

You couldn’t demand it from the doctors. You trust the doctors… so you surrender to the surgery.

And by the skill of your doctors, the sacrifice of the donour and the grace of Almighty God you wake up and indeed… soon you feel like a new person!

Jesus says that all the things that defile people come from within… out of the heart.

Every human being naturally has a heart problem.

The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart.

After committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering her husband King David asked God to “Create in me a clean heart, O God” Ps 51:10.

Ezekiel 36:25–27 (NIV84)

25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

Becoming a Christian, a person of faith, is a work of grace on the part of God where the part of the person is limited to acknowledging their disease, their need, their helplessness and surrendering to the One who gave his life so that you could receive a heart transplant.

No one gets accepted by God because they try hard to be good.

I don’t get to be a White by trying. I accept the fact that that is who I am by a work of God.

We don’t get to be Christians by trying. We accept the fact that we don’t deserve it… and take him at his word when he says Jesus died to pay the price of our rebellion and he gives us the free gift of eternal life.

That’s how we get faith. It is the gift of God.

But Christian faith… as evidenced by Paul’s concerns for his friends in Thessalonica is living... dynamic... Faith, Biblical faith in the Person and work of Jesus can be growing… or shrinking, strong… or weak.

Faith is very valuable… but also vulnerable!

This God-given gift of faith is the most valuable gift.

But it is also vulnerable.

1 Thessalonians 3:2–5 (NIV84)

2 We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know. 5 For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.

It so often seems assumed… you go to church, you have a saving faith… let’s talk about something else.

In this building this morning are people in varying degrees of faith.

Some people have saving faith, some don’t.

Some have a weak faith in the Lord Jesus; some have a strong faith in their church and good lifestyle.

Does that concern you?

To Paul the faith of his friends was more important than his own health and safety.

He was sick with worry about the faith of his friends when he didn’t know… and over the moon with joy and thankfulness to God when he heard that they faith was alive and well.

There are people here this morning who wish they had faith.

There are others with faith that is waning.

Others who have a strong faith.

There are probably some who have faith in the church, their own lifestyles… and others who have faith in Jesus.

What makes the difference? Complex. But essentially the presence or absence, strength or weakness of our faith depends on the relationship with the Lord Jesus.

Christian Faith is of infinite value!

Then nurture your faith… and be concerned enough about the faith of others.

Look at what Paul says...

He sent Timothy to strengthen and encourage their faith.

He knew Satan would tempt them to release their faith… but, v8, they were standing firm in the Lord.

And v10, he desires to see them again and supply what is lacking in their faith.

This MUST be sorted out before you launch into eternity!

As Ivan McGuire boarded the small airplane with his video camera, the experienced skydiver didn’t know this would be his final ever flight.

Ivan worked as a cameraman filming nervous student parachuters taking their first-ever jump. He’d made hundreds of these flights, and any fear of leaping out of a plane from a height of three kilometres had left Ivan long ago.

On April 5th, 1988 Ivan McGuire jumped from a plane with his heavy VHS recording deck strapped to his back and the camera mounted to his helmet. Ivan had already completed two of these filming jumps that day, so he was a little fatigued – which may account for his soon-to-be-discovered forgetfulness.

On this final jump for the day Ivan calmly filmed the student strapped to his instructor as they both went through their free-fall and then opened their combined parachute. Ivan then reached around to open his parachute…. and discovered that he’d forgotten to put one on.

The surviving video footage from Ivan’s camera then goes from relaxed… to frenzied.

Friends that how deceived we can be… and how important faith is.

Don’t leave home without it!

If you have a sure (maybe strong, maybe weak) but sure faith in Jesus, the work he completed on the cross for you… value it, strengthen it, cherish it, thank God for it, don’t take it for granted.

Let’s talk about it....

Let’s nurture and exercise our faith in Jesus.

It is precious; He is all-powerful.