Today's scripture is found in the book of first Thessalonians chapter one through five Chapter one verses or chapter one verses one through five season And if you need a Bible in front of the pews is a few Bibles available for you if you Can bring one so hopefully to grab one
And the word of the Lord reads Paul Sylvanas and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians and God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ Grace to you and peace We give thanks to God always for all of you contently mentioning you in our prayers Remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and Steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ For we know brothers Loved by God that he has chosen you because our gospel came to you not only in word But also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction You know What kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake? You know handwritten letters are an anomaly in our Day and time in an age of emails and texting and Cell phones it is rare that among the Bibles you come across or find a a written letter A letter from a dear friend or a family member Because of this the genre of letters Typically gets lost on a sweet we forget that when we read Letters in the Bible that we are actually reading letters letters written From their friends to other friends when we read the books of the Bible like Romans and Ephesians and first and second Peter We forget that we are actually reading real Letters they they are not theological textbooks or even ramblings of Earlier followers of Jesus, but they are actually personal letters The friends That's the Tony last week He gave us an intro to the Thessalonians and he explained for us that Paul wrote a letter to this to this young Church who was facing real persecution Paul knew it was real because he had experienced it himself and and he and and Silas and Timothy were forced to flee Thessalonica because they were under fear of Persecution both to themselves and to others, but but Paul Loving the churches that he was by God's grace granted to plants and to help establish and to to start He wanted to find out how these churches were doing how the church in Thessalonica was doing and so he sent back Timothy to check up on the church and to find out how they were doing and so when Timothy returned and tells him of all that is going on and and the wonderful blessings that is the church of Thessalonica He sends back this letter Now remember this letter was written in the in the first century and this this is how people Communicated back then they communicated via letter. There was no face time There there was no conference calls that they could get on they Paul's way of communicating was via letter and Here is the part that gets missed by us We we missed the excitement and the anticipation that would have been this this letter to the Thessalonians This dear young church had never had not seen Paul in in a number of years the last time they saw him He was being run out of Thessalonica So there was here was their spiritual father the one who had led them to the face What would this what would be contained in this letter? What what would it say would would Paul address all the questions and the the concerns that they had would he be able to Settle the disputes that were going on among the body well Paul's intro Gives us a little taste of a flavor of where he was going and this is what Paul always did with his Letters his intro his intro was kind of set the tone They they gave us a glimpse of what the actual letter the actual book was going to be about To the philippians his his his intro was was very warm and it was very friendly and inviting for that was a a Group of churches. That was a church that he really love But to the Galatians he he gets right to the point for for he wants to bring a rebuke against the Galatians here in Thessalonica This young church that that Paul had started he he knows to whom he is writing. He knows who who is going to read this letter a young church facing persecution Dealing with some recent death Struggling to live faithfully in a perverse city Paul knew what was needed in this church They needed encouragement They needed encouragement Brothers and sisters, I think we underestimate the power of encouragement We underestimate it and the reason why we underestimate it is because we have failed to grasp How prevalent and how devastating discouragement discouragement You know that discouragement is one of the leading reasons why pastors leave the church Why they leave the past written and no longer want to pastor anymore because they are discouraged the the way of the ministry the the the needs of the people they They're discouraged You know, that's why some people actually leave the church Things their expectations aren't being met the things aren't going their way They don't feel like they're making friends and and so they are discouraged and they leave the church You know discouragement Can get so bad That it would actually lead people to take their own life Because they they're so discouraged and they feel like they don't have any hope and they need to go Now I don't I don't think the Thessalonians were discouraged to that point But but given their circumstances and their situations given the fact that they were facing persecution Given the fact that they had questions among them given the fact that they were people dying among them They weren't sure what was going to happen I think Paul wants to encourage them the the possibilities for discouragement were very real He wants To encourage them to continue to press on To keep to keep fighting to keep to keep to keep going That's the wonderful thing about encouragement It's best it's encouragement is like a preventative to discouragement If if you know discouragement is coming you want to encourage those who need encouraging so that you would prevent discouragement So Paul wanting to encourage and strengthen and wanting the church to continue on He encourages them he writes to them to let them know that one That they are prayed for Number one that they are prayed for and then number two Number two, he wants to remind them of all that the Lord all that God has done for them He wants to remind them that they are prayed for look at verse two We get thanks to God always for all of you Constantly mentioning you in our prayers Did you know That one of the greatest form of encouragement is to tell people that you are praying for them To tell them that you actually have them on your heart and you care for them And so you are praying for them now I know us in our cynical nature when we hear that we think people are just being tried Like you have just laid your soul bare before them and you are crying and all they can say is I'll pray for you And and you think it's just a Throw away Praise and I know that sometimes it can it can come off as try it and and like the person is just trying to get out of The conversation because they don't know what to do with the problem that they have just laid at your feet But brothers and sisters do you understand that that if they actually are praying You wouldn't want them to do anything else, but do that You want them to pray for you That is what you want Paul tells the Sessylonians that he Timothy and Silas constantly pray for them and you know when Paul says that to them It isn't a throwaway frame. He really is praying for them How do I know? Because this is what Paul did this was his mo. He he prayed for all the churches that he was by God's grace Able to plan He prayed for the Colossians and for the Philippians and for the Ephesians and even the dysfunctional Corinthians Paul prayed for them and he was a he was a prayer warrior And he wasn't just praying like prayers, but these were these were deep prayers These were prayers that showed that he had a concern that he had a love for the people that he wanted them to grow Look at an example of in Colossians one and nine And so from the day we heard we have not ceased to pray for you asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding So that's a walk in a manner worthy of the Lord fully pleasing to him bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God Do you hear that prayer? Paul had a concern for their growth He had a concern for their encouragement their knowledge for their understanding of God Paul's means Of wanting to encourage the church was to let them know that he was praying for them And brothers and sisters do you know why that is so encouraging because of who Paul and who we pray to That's why it's encouraging Because of who we are praying to That who you pray to makes all the difference It makes all the difference look at what Paul says he says I give thanks to God Remembering before God and our God and Father We are praying to our Father When I read this I was thinking about my kids You know kids nowadays they don't watch TV anymore What did they ask to watch they asked to watch Netflix? There's nobody just turns on a TV anymore. They say bad can we can we watch Netflix and so I see my kids Often times I'm in run room and I and I hear them in another room kind of in a conversation Debating who's going to come in and act dad If we can watch Netflix They're trying to figure out who's going to do it right and no no no I went last time you go this time right They they want to send a representative to their dad to ask on behalf of all of them
I'm an okay father. I'm not a good father. I'm a little okay father, but I'm not like the good father Here is Paul going To his father on behalf of his brothers and sisters He's taking their requests always going before them and and going to ask for his brothers and sisters constantly In prayer and the encouragement comes from knowing that he's praying to our father and and this is our father's world This is his world. Do you do you know the him? This is my father's world one verse says oh Let me never forget That though the wrong seems also strong God is the ruler yet This is my father's world Why should my heart be sad The Lord is King let the heavens reign God reigns let the earth be glad Do you hear that that this is our father's world? Why should we be sad when when somebody tells you that they are praying for you It should be an encouragement because of who they're praying to their praying to our father and we have a good father Who loves to give his children? Good gifts gifts that are good for them gifts that are for their benefit just that are for their encouragement We pray to our father
Those are sisters telling someone that you are praying for them It's encouraging because of who we pray to But also when we tell them That we are praying for them you know who we are mimicking We talked about this being the imitation of Christ you know who we are imitating we are imitating Jesus You remember Jesus with Peter he comes to Peter and he says Peter Satan has asked to to fit you like Wheat And Jesus says in Luke 22 and verse 31 But I have prayed for you, Peter I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail and when you have turned again Strengthen your brothers listen I don't mind you telling me that you are praying for me I want to hear that I don't see that as a try I don't see that as a try phrase I want you to be praying for me because when you say that you are praying for me I'm reminded that Jesus is praying for me And there is no greater encouragement than that that Jesus is praying for me You can you can say that you are praying for me constantly But I know that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak I know that you may forget you may say that you're going to pray for me and then go home And the cares and the concerns of this world grip you and you forget to pray for me But I'm reminded that Jesus never forgets to pray for me He's always praying for me so you telling me that you're going to pray for me Reminds me that Jesus is in heaven Sitting at the right hand of God the Father Making intercession on my behalf continuously Always there is in a moment that he is not there. Do you get that?
Is praying For you You are discouraged this morning If it's the if the concerns and the cares of this world are weighing you down be encouraged You are being prayed for We'll take that lightly You are being prayed for all encourages them This prayer Says that he is praying for them But the encouragement doesn't stop there He says Be encouraged by all that the Lord has done Look at verse 30 verses 3 and 5 Remember before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ For we know brothers love by God that he has chosen you Because our gospel came to you not only in word But also in power and in the holy spirit and with conviction You know, I've met with people before who have been quite discouraged then they come and they they've told me A little bit about all that is going on in their life and their they're just down and and and and not sure where to go and and very discouraged And and by God's grace I've had an opportunity to explain and start sharing some of the the the true and the implications of the gospel And often Been met with like staring to work That's that's not enough is that is that all that you have for me I need a little bit more encouragement. Tell me what I can do practically Brothers and sisters, I am sure to some extent we are all guilty of neglecting the true of the gospel but And we dismiss them regularly as as a remedy for our discouragement But when Paul wants to encourage the Thessalonians He encourages them with the fruit of the gospel By recalling for them what God did to them What God did in them and what God is doing through them What God did to them first for What God did to them was that he lovingly chose them in Christ Lovingly chose them in Christ Paul reminds them of the glorious doctrine of election Simply put As Jesus says in John 15 I chose you you didn't choose me
This is Paul's foundational truth Before the foundation of the world God lovingly chose in Christ those who would be his in Ephesians chapter 1 Now you hear that and you might be tempted to say well does that mean that there is a special people Are there special people that God chooses and and and love
Important to note That God does not choose the Thessalonians Nor does he choose any of his children because they are special In fact He chooses them because they aren't special Paul tells the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 1 and 26 and 28 Do 28 for consider your calling brothers Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards Not not many were powerful not many were of noble birth But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise God chose what is weak in the world to say shame the strong God chose what is low and despise in the world even things that are not to bring to nothing things That are brothers and sisters God doesn't choose special people He doesn't choose people that that have it all together
Listen You understand that the the city of Bethelonaica was known for its its its sexual perversion it was it was known for Uh, it's worldly living and it was it was known it was it was a it was a it was a city that had a bad reputation
Sure I am fully actually convinced That the church at Thessalonica Was full of men and women Who were drunkards and and buttons and the church of Bethelonaica wasn't full of special people It was full of people that nobody wanted it It was full of the people on the outskirts brothers and sisters that should be this church I'm sure we can all have we can look at our backgrounds and our testimonies and say yeah We don't belong here because we're not we're not special people God chose us not because we're special but because we're not special
You know what you say? Why is that so encouraging? You know why that's encouraging? because The Thessalonians would have been Encourage that the God of the universe chose them And and that he was he didn't do it out of obligation He didn't he didn't do it because he was perverse But he lovingly He lovingly chose them You know why choosing my God choosing he was so encouraging Because he knows everything about you He knows everything about you when when everyone else leaves When everyone else leaves and and abandons you When you feel like you are a failure when you feel like you are messing up all Round Jesus says you are mine You are mine. I I I chose you. I know all these things about you and yet I still Chose you if you say You say that is only encouraging if you know that God has chosen you How does Paul know that they were chosen? Looks like Paul knew you would have that question The verses four and five he answers For we know brothers Love by God that he has chosen you Because our gospel came to you not only in word but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and full of Confiction. Here's the truth God knew that they were chosen because what he had done In them What God had done in them what God had done to them and then what God had done in them I just mentioned that I'm fully convinced that That the church at that one icon was full What's full of those who we would say were not at all special We we said that they were drunkards and and guttons There was a word that I I failed to mention Here the church at that one icon Was made up a former drunkard guttons And those who Live life according to the flesh You know what makes me so sure of that verse nine For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you And how you turn to God from idols to serve the living and the true God The power of the gospel is evidenced in changed lives Paul says the gospel came not just in word but it Powerfully it's powerful that word there means it is dunamis is dynamite and it's dynamite it powerfully Worked in you repentance and conviction of sin It established a assurance they they didn't just turn over a new leaf or or yet they became a new creation Their taste were different Their attitudes were new In some ways they were unrecognizable I love that verse in Acts 4 and 13 where Peter and John are with some men and they see them and they say I perceive that they were uneducated and common men They were astonished and they realized that they had been with Jesus They had been with Jesus their lives were different It was changed The church at that's where an icon had experienced the work of God and then Holy spirit had radically changed There Live How do you know that you have been chosen Listen, there's not some special oracle that you go to to ask like the matrix right You go and ask if you're that you're the chosen one there's not some special Oracle If you say you believe in Jesus you say you believe he died on the cross for your sins And examine your life as there have been a change Jesus more desirable to you than he was before Listen The gospel is powerful You just don't believe it and nothing happened powerful Change come This is so encouraging Because Here it is This is so encouraging when you get this that the power of the gospel that is the power of the gospel that changes you When you understand that You you realize that this isn't about trying to clean myself up This isn't about getting myself ready in order to come to Jesus This isn't about pulling myself up by my own bootstrap. This is not getting your act together You realize that that this is Jesus changing me It's it's like Jesus telling Peter when Jesus was washing his feet and Peter says no Lord I don't want you to wash my feet and Jesus says Peter Do you not realize that if I don't wash you you can have no part of me It's not wash your own self It's not get your own self together You understand the power of the gospel You realize that it is Jesus who changes you You come to him as you are and he will change you Make you new God did to them in them What God is doing through them Remembering before our God and Father you'll work of faith and your labor of love And steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Paul lays out for them these These three virtues that he has seen in the desolones work of faith love and hope To this work of faith Paul is not commanding them for them working for their faith He is commending and thanking God for a faith that works Their generosity their care for those among them their eager reception of the word of God was a testament To faith in their lives They weren't guilty of what James says when he says what's good is it my brothers If someone says he has faith But does not have work Does that salonians good work was evidence that God had done a work in them They could claim to have faith in Jesus the work of faith It's also the labor of love We talk about it all the time But I don't think we could talk about it enough that that a clear mark of Faithful church Is the the mark the virtue of love Paul says this is just not any type of love, but this was a labor of love that the desoloneans were demonstrating That it was costly The sacrificial love Like this we know love That he laid down his life for us And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers first down three sixteen They're loved with costly and they imitated their lord They loved hard Because they had been loved hard Lastly All talks about the steadfastness of hope that he sees in the Sepulonians Remember that the Sepulonians were constantly on the threat the threat of persecution They were birthed in the midst of it But here they were still going strong and pressing forward and and Paul commended them for their perseverance They had not turned back They their hope was in the living God it had it had not wavered Paul wanted them to be encouraged Because they had not given up because they had not given in they were continuing To pursue in the faith If you understand that if you brothers and sisters are showing up on Sunday morning If you are going to home fellowship groups If you are digging in the word if you are praying If you are getting together with the saints Be encouraged because you are demonstrating a steadfastness of hope And this is not just any hope This is a hope that is confident This is a sure and a trustworthy hope in the living and true God The hope Paul's encouragement to the Sepulonians is that he has seen and heard Their work of faith Their labor of love and their steadfastness of hope
But understand that as Paul was encouraging them As he is telling them of all that he's seeing in them He doesn't do it He doesn't tell them that so that they could kind of sit back and rest on their laurels and say oh we're good Paul encourages them So that they would continue to do it more And more That they would be encouraged to press on
How about us, he's point church
When we hear this list That fastness of hope, a labor of love When we hear this A work of faith Are we encouraged? Can we look around our body and see these and say we are encouraged? I bet if we would look I bet if we would really kind of look and see I think we would see that we would be encouraged I can think of many areas where faith, love and hope have been on display in this body From providing meals to those who lost loved ones Who had a baby To work in the community Through a thankful and patient spirit and looking for a building To helping people move To lending and purchasing of cars Purchasing of groceries for those in need Shoulders to cry on prayers be he being listed Brothers sisters if you would just look And open up your eyes you could add to that list that list would go on and on Be encouraged church To continue in these things. I don't I don't share that To think that you can just rest but we need to be doing those things more and more
All saw these in the Thessalonians and they were encouraged Perhaps you're here and you say um I thought I thought this was supposed to be an encouraging word And I'm not I'm not at all encouraged Because none of that seemed like you were talking to me
well friend Paul sent this letter to the church in Thessalonica And he greets them with this greeting Grace to you and peace Grace to you and peace now. I know that time that that tends to get lost on us But as soon as the the representative who read the letter to the church and that's when I just stood up And heard and and they recited and said that this letter was from Paul Silas and Timothy And if they heard grace and peace to you they would have immediately been in Courage For Paul was speaking about the grace and peace that comes only from God You are here and you have not received the grace of God offered to you in Jesus Christ Then you are not at peace with God and therefore you would not be encouraged
but please be encouraged Because God brought you here You brought you here to hear the good news of Jesus Christ That you could come as you are And that the powerful gospel of Jesus Christ Him dying on the cross Jesus dying on the cross paying the penalty for our sins And that when we trust him We place our faith in him that we can have eternal life Brothers sisters when you do that when you hear that message you Can be encouraged that the powerful gospel will work in your heart And change you and you will begin to see these virtues being worked out in your life a work of faith A labor of love