Our scripture this morning is from 1 Thessalonians, chapter 3, verses 1 through 5. 1 Thessalonians 3, 1 through 5. Let's hear the word of the Lord. 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 co-worker, and the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, 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 now 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. The word of the Lord. Christians are at war. If you are like me, you are guilty of forgetting that at times. But the reality is that if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are engaged in warfare. As you know, our fight is not against flesh and blood, but it is against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places. This war that we Christians are engaged in is a spiritual war. And if you were not aware, this enemy, this enemy that we are engaged in war with, he doesn't fight, fear, implores tactics that leave you devastated and disoriented. He kicks you when you are down, our enemy, he is cunning, he is strong, he is a wicked foe. Now any military general will tell you, you won't win a war, you won't win battles, you won't win a war unless you know your enemy. You need to know where, when, and how they attack. If you are going to have any chance at winning the war or defeating them, Paul is very aware of our enemy. And his ways, and we will see that in our text this morning. Given that it's been a few weeks since we have been in the book of First Thessalonians, I thought it would be helpful to catch us up a little bit. Remember Paul and Silas and Timothy had planted a church in Thessalonica, but they weren't able to minister very long because they were run out of town by those who were opposing this gospel message that they were proclaiming. We have learned thus far that Thessalonians received the gospel with joy that it came to them and it took root and it was bearing fruit. And so this young group of believers of brothers and sisters is growing and they are thriving and word of their faith is not only spreading throughout the region, but Paul tells us that their word of their faith is spreading everywhere. But despite all of the success that we see, that Paul commends them for their faith, they are not without suffering and persecution. So Paul, having a deep love and a deep concern for these brothers and sisters in Christ, whom he, Silas and Timothy had planted the gospel among having a love for them, he is concerned. And he sends to them Timothy and our text this morning explains his reason for doing so. See, twice, twice in our text, twice, Paul mentions in verse 1 and 5, and verse 5, that he could no longer bear being away from them, being away from Thessalonians. He had a deep affection for the saints and in fact, he was being hindered from going and being with them and this hindrance was eating at him. You remember that he was hindered, he tells us by Satan that added to his right. He wanted to know how these young brothers and sisters in Christ were holding up under the persecution and under the affliction that they were experiencing and facing. Paul had warned them that it was coming, but now they were in the midst of it, they were facing it. Suffering and affliction in this life is real brothers and sisters. And we can warn all day long, talk about it in sermons, read about it in books, discuss it in home fellowship groups, but we don't know how we are going to handle suffering until we are smack dab in the middle of it. Our hope is that when suffering and persecution comes, that we would suffer well. That's our hope for you, is that when it comes upon you that you would suffer well, but we don't know how we will respond. Suffering, as if you've been here for any length of time, you're saying, are we talking about suffering again? It seems like it comes up every week. Are we talking about suffering again, brothers and sisters? The reason why we keep bringing up suffering is because the Bible keeps bringing it up. That is why I just don't understand the preachers that only talk about prosperity and blessings and never talk about suffering. They can't be reading the Bible that I'm reading. It's all over the place. Christian Paul tells the Thessalonians in verse 3 that they were destined for suffering. It was inevitable, unavoidable, a sure reality. And you know where Paul got this from? He got it from Jesus. John 15 and 20. Remember the word that I said to you? A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. Suffering was inevitable. They were destined for it. Here is what I find fascinating and instructive about Paul's reminder to the Thessalonians about suffering and about persecution that would be their portion. Remember, Paul, Silas and Timothy had not spent a great deal of time with the Thessalonians after they planted the church. Some estimated being around a couple of weeks, not a lot of time to teach them about the faith. Here is what I find instructive. Paul felt it important to end that short time he had with these new believers to take time to explain and warn them of suffering. Verse 4. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction. They kept telling them it was coming. I wonder. I wonder if that's our approach as we are explaining to people what it means to follow after Jesus. Just to walk with him. Do you tell them about the love and the mercy of God? I hope so. I hope you would tell them that God is loving and that he is merciful. What about all the spiritual blessings that are ours in Christ Jesus? That would be helpful to share. Forgiveness and peace, peace of God and an adoption and blessings and grace. All those truths and benefits are vital to share when we are teaching people or telling people what it means to follow and walk with Jesus. But in your strategy, when you are talking with those who you are sharing the gospel with, do you tell them about suffering? Do you let people know that following Jesus means that they are destined to suffer? Those are sisters. Over and over and over again, we say it. Suffering affords everyone. Christians, Christians are not exempt. I was just reading a story here this morning and following it got the week of the young couple, 29 years old who were headed to the mission field. They had three young children, leaving Minnesota on their way to Colorado for training. And while they were on their way, a semi were ended them on the highway and all five of them perished in the accident. Those sisters, Christians are not exempt from suffering. And for us, it is particularly difficult because the faithful Christians often suffers while doing good. That was the suffering that Thessalonians were facing. They were being persecuted because they were following after Jesus. Listen, suffering is hard to endure. Ask anybody. It is difficult to endure. Unbelievers know that it is difficult to endure. But what is even more so, what makes it even more difficult is suffering for seeking to live faithfully in this world. Wanting to know how these Thessalonians, these young brothers and sisters were holding up under the persecution. Yes, he was concerned about their physical well-being. But more importantly, his greater concern was their spiritual state was. He wanted to know if the Tempter had gotten to them. For five, 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. The Tempter here, here we have a description of our enemy and how he works. When Paul says Tempter here, he means Satan. Just one of the many names the Bible uses to describe our adversary. He is called the accuser, the deceiver, the father of lies, a murderer, the god of this world, a prince of darkness. These are just a few of the names the Bible uses to describe him. None of them good, none of them enduring. They described the evil intentions of our enemy, deceiver, liar, murderer. That is another reference to Satan. He is the evil one, evil one. But in our text, Paul refers to him as the Tempter. For one of Satan's tactics is to tempt faithful followers of Jesus to turn from the kingdom of life and to walk into the kingdom of darkness. Here is the part that is crucial for us to understand. Our most strong in the midst of suffering. That was the reason for Paul's deep concern. He knew that Satan was no doubt roaming around like a roaring lion amongst them seeking those he could devour. And I'm convinced by the sisters that Paul's concern for the Thessalonians was validated. It was warranted. If anyone knew the wild and the schemes of the evil one, it was Paul. Remember, he was discerning enough to say and to know that it was Satan who was hindering him from being with the Thessalonians. Paul knew the enemy. Question is, do we know his tactics and his schemes and how he works? Truth of the matter is, he is not really that hard to figure out. When we read our Bibles, we are able to see how he works. Throughout redemptive history, Satan has been tempting God's people in the midst of suffering. You remember the children of Israel. They are delivered from Egypt and Pharaoh's oppressive army. And there they are in the wilderness. And things aren't going very well and they begin to complain and think and say that it was better for them to be in Egypt. They wanted to return that attempt to begin tempting them in the midst of their suffering. What about Job? Job is afflicted. He loses his family, his crops, he is afflicted with disease. And Job's wife comes to him and says, when he is low and distraught, he says, Job, curse God and die. Perhaps the greatest temptation was deployed on Jesus in the wilderness. After fasting for 40 days, Jesus is no doubt tired and weak. And when Satan comes, it actually says when the tempter came, the tempter came to Jesus. Comes to him seeking to tempt him to divert from the plan. Brothers and sisters, this is how Satan works. He is predictable. The problem is we forget that we are destined for suffering. We know it's coming, but yet we are caught off guard. And the enemy tempts us and we end up giving into temptation. So we need to know how he works. Brothers and sisters, here are some ways he works. The midst of our suffering, he tempts us to believe that God is not good. Suffering comes and Satan would have us to believe that a good God would not allow this to happen to such a good person, to believe that God is not good. But he also tempts us to believe that what is really fleeting pleasure is better than everlasting pleasure. This happened to the children of Israel. That's what they caused them to think that it was better in Egypt. They wanted fleeting pleasure instead of lasting pleasure. This was happened to deem it in Timothy 4 and 10, that he loved this world and so he went out from us. He traded fleeting pleasure. He traded everlasting pleasure for fleeting pleasure. He tempts us to believe that our former life of sin is better than the life we now have in Christ. He also tempts us to believe that responding in sin to persecution and suffering is justified. Brothers and sisters, if you don't know how Satan tempts us, we open up ourselves to be drawn away from him. Satan tempts us when we are weak in the areas where we are weak. This is what happened to the Thessalonians. The Thessalonians came in, the tempter came in and filled that which he, Timothy and Silas had planted. Paul knew the enemy. But he also knew that the enemy could be overcome. He knew that the enemy could be overcome. He had a strategy for the enemy. Paul's concern for the Thessalonians led to action. And we know that one of the strategy was to pray for the Thessalonians. That's what we talked about that already. We've seen Paul doing that. He said, we constantly remember you in our prayers. They were praying for them. He was also led to send Timothy knowing he himself could not go. That was strategy number two. Send a faithful minister to establish and exhort so that no one would be moved by these afflictions. Strategy number two. Paul sent a faithful minister. In Timothy, Paul is quoted as saying that he had no one else like him. And his description of Timothy to Thessalonians is in keeping with that sediment. Verse two. And we sent Timothy, our brother, and God's coworker in the gospel of Christ. Timothy here is not just referred to as a brother, a fellow heir of Christ. Not just a brother in the faith, but also as God's coworker. What a commendation. Paul saw Timothy as a co-labor of God in accomplishing God's mission in the world. Imagine that those who share in proclaiming the gospel of God are indeed given the privilege if I could use such language as working alongside God to accomplish his mission in the world. Paul didn't just send anybody. He sent a faithful servant whom he knew would carry what was needed to be carried to Thessalonians. Namely, the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's what Timothy was going to go and do in Thessalonica. He was going to go and proclaim the gospel. Timothy was sent to combat the work of the Tempter and brothers and sisters. That is what faithful ministers of the gospel are called to do. That is part of the responsibility of faithful shepherds. Yes, yes, we are called to guard the flock and the sheep from false teachers who would come in and seek to devour the saints. We are also called to be on guard against the Tempter. Satan is always working, seeking a plan, seeking a way in which he can gain an end. That is why we need to be diligent. We need not just be on the defensive, but we need to be on the offensive, fighting against this foe and Paul knew this. So he sent Timothy not just to check in on Thessalonians, not to just go and evere from a distance and do a secret shaper on them. No, he sent them. He sent Timothy with a message. He sent him on a mission. He sent Timothy to establish and exhort. In other words, Timothy was to go and strengthen the brothers and sisters and build them up in the faith. That is what he was called to do, to build them up in the faith. You know that the gospel had been planted in Thessalonica and taken root. The time as we said earlier for teaching had been short. Faithful evangelism brothers and sisters must include faithful teaching and discipleship. So Timothy was going to go and teach and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is what it means to establish and to exhort in the faith. Listen to what Paul said to the church at Colossae, Colossians 2, 4 and 7, or 6 and 7, I'm sorry. Therefore, as you receive Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooting and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught abounding in thanksgiving. Brothers and sisters, do you realize that the gospel is not only the message that saves us, it is the message that grows us up? It builds us up, 1 Corinthians 15. Now I would remind you brothers of the gospel, I preach to you which you receive in which you stand and by which you are being saved. We not only get saved by the gospel, but we live in light of the gospel. It's what sanctifies us, it what grows us up, it's what builds us up. Timothy to combat the tempter in Thessalonica was to go and preach and teach the truth of the gospel so that they might be encouraged and strengthened to press on and to endure so that they wouldn't be moved by these afflictions. What truth did He teach? Perhaps He spoke to them, pray that you would hear this, perhaps He spoke to them of their union with Christ. That when we trust the person and the work of Jesus Christ, that we are united with Him, it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in us. We are now hidden in Him, fed and nourished by Him and the recipient of numerous benefits. Benefits that just blow our minds, numerous benefits, we receive based upon the fact that we are in Christ. Perhaps you ask, what are those benefits? What are those glorious benefits? The truth of the gospel that build up Christians, justification, that you have been justified, that you have been declared righteous before a holy God, cause on the cross, the great exchange happened. Jesus bore our sins and we were clothed in His righteousness. Benefits, a spiritual truth, faith building up the Christians, you are declared righteous. That's not the only benefit, there's the benefit of adoption, that we have been adopted into the family of God and have been given all the rights and the privileges of sons and daughters of God. You and I have been adopted another glorious truth of the gospel that builds up and strengthens believers. What about forgiveness? The benefit of forgiveness because we are united in Christ, because we are in Christ, we have been forgiven. And that all of our sins, past, present, and future are forgiven in Jesus Christ, guilt, shame, and condemnation are no longer our portion. You see how that builds you up in the face, strengthens you? You are forgiven in Jesus, but about sanctification. The glorious truth that He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it, that He by Holy Spirit is making you holy, He is transforming you and conforming you into the image of Jesus. These are the benefits, these are the things perhaps that Timothy was ecstatic to establish and exhort the Thessalonians to believe, all these benefits along to those who are rooted in Christ. And here's the deal brothers and sisters, those benefits I just listed, that's just scratching the surface. The gospel is deep and it's wide and we can plunge the depths all our lives long and not get to the bottom of all the glorious truth that are found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The spiritual blessings are bound and abound and abound and abound. Timothy was sent to establish and to exhort these young believers in the gospel. Is this establishing and this exhorting that would help them combat the works of the evil one that would help deal with the temptation of the tempter? Perhaps you're thinking, is that work? Is that work? The sisters here is why it works. When you are rooted and established in Jesus, when you think upon all of the glorious benefits that are yours in Christ Jesus, when you contemplate on that it begins to become increasingly clear that nothing else compares with Jesus. The tempter can come and bring anything to you and you say, I'm good, I've got Jesus, all the benefits that come. Suffering, no suffering, tribulation, no tribulation. When it comes, you say like Job when the tempter came to him, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away but blessed be the name of the Lord. Even more than that, when you are rooted and established in the faith, you remember what Hebrews 4 and 15 said, but we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness. But one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Jesus was tempted in every way as we are and there isn't anything that you and I are facing that our Lord hasn't himself faced. You are not alone and here is the glorious part. When the tempter came to Jesus and sought to tempt him, he, the Bible says, did not sin. He overcame and defeated the enemy. Oh, you know what that does? One that gives us hope that we can be tempted and not sin. We also reminded. We also give them a promise that there is grace in our time of need. The following verse 15 of Hebrews chapter 4 is this promise. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. How do we overcome the tempter in the time of our need? We draw near to the throne of grace and we cry out for mercy and there is mercy there. Are you in the midst of suffering and the tempter is tempting you to turn from the faith? You are trying to figure out how to overcome the enemy, the evil one. Here is my exhortation fully to the throne of grace and there find mercy and forgiveness for yours. Oh, as a glorious truth, we overcome the evil one by looking to be the author and the perfect of our faith.