Tabitha. All right, this morning I want to invite you to take your Bibles together with me and turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 3. We're continuing in our study of this epistle and if you've been with us for the last several weeks you know that we have been looking at the church in Thessalonica and Paul's ministry there. And today what I want to do is I want to, as we look at Chapter 3, talk about the nature of biblical relationships. If you're looking for a title for this morning's message, I've chosen to go with that one, The Nature of Biblical Relationships. The Nature of Biblical Relationships. You can give it a subtitle if you want. It's the secret to spiritual growth within the context of the church. But when we're talking about relationships, think about what it is that most people, yourself probably included a lot of the time, are looking for in relationships. Generally speaking, most people are selfish in relationships. We want a relationship with somebody because we want somebody to be there for us. We want somebody to like us. We want somebody to do things with us that we want to do or to help us do what we want to do. Most relationships are selfishly motivated. But what does God really want the heartbeat of His people to be in the context of the relationships that we are to have with each other? What is it that God expects a spiritual leader to have with regard to his motivations and the nature of his relationships with the people to whom he ministers? And whether we're talking about elders, pastors, overseers, whether we're talking about missionaries, apostles, etc. What is the nature of biblical relationships according to what God expects? Well, as we take a look at 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 and we kind of parachute down into the middle of this book now, I want you to see that there are two practices that God expects to be characteristic of his people. True biblical relationships are characterized by being two things. One, people, us being genuinely concerned for the spiritual welfare of our fellow believers. and two, us being visibly committed to the spiritual welfare of fellow believers. God expects us to be genuinely concerned and visibly committed to the spiritual welfare of our fellow believers. When we talk about genuinely concerned for the spiritual welfare and visibly committed to the spiritual welfare, I think these are the two things that you can see displayed very clearly in 1 Thessalonians 3 with regard to the Apostle Paul's genuine concern and visible, demonstrable commitment to the spiritual welfare of the saints in Thessalonica. And as we walk through the text this morning, I hope that like the Thessalonians, you too, and I as well, learn from Paul's example and follow that example. You may think that, well, this is Paul describing his genuine concern for the spiritual welfare of the Thessalonians. This is his personal visible commitment to the spiritual welfare of the Thessalonians. And that's a message that's very true and applicable to spiritual leaders. This is a great passage for pastors, and it is. But I want to direct your attention again back to 1 Thessalonians 1. And remind you that the Apostle Paul says, starting in verse two, we give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers, constantly bearing in mind your work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in our presence of our God and Father. Knowing brethren beloved by God is choice of you. Why? Because our gospel didn't come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit with full conviction. Just as you know what kind of men we prove to be among you for your sake. You remember how we ministered to you, how we came to you, how we cared for you, how we were genuinely concerned and visibly committed to you in sharing the gospel and looking to see you reconciled to Christ and becoming His people? And as a result, verse 6, you became imitators of us and of the Lord. I want you to notice that the thing that Paul most often and most clearly and directly commends the Thessalonians for is a Christian life, a work of faith, a labor of love and a steadfastness of hope that is following the pattern, following the example that he gave them. You became imitators of us, and therefore, by extension, imitators of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit. So much so, in fact, that verse seven, you became an example, a type, a pattern. Tupos is the Greek word. A model. You became an example to all the believers, not just in your local community, but even in the surrounding provinces. to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. Why? Because just like we came there and proclaimed the word to you, so too the word of the Lord is sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth so that we don't need to say anything. Because they tell about how we got there and preach the gospel to you and they tell about how you turn to a living God from dead idols and how you are waiting for living in light of the imminent return of Jesus Christ. And that's the way the Apostle Paul lived, right? So I want you to see that as we move past now chapters one and two and walk into chapter three, when Paul starts this with a therefore, as he's continuing on his discussion that he's had now for over two chapters, as he's continuing in his commentation and exhortation to the saints in Thessalonica, as Paul continues to address them, As Paul continues to encourage them and to exhort them and tell them about his love and affection and commitment to them. As Paul continues in this letter, what he's telling them is about his genuine concern and visible commitment to them and for their spiritual welfare. And it is part of therefore the example that he is giving to them that they are to have for each other and by extension for all the Saints. And so too, that's an example for us to follow. Listen, this passage is very directly applicable to spiritual leaders. It's also very directly applicable to every single one of us as Christians and members of this body. The nature of biblical relationships is not simply friendship. It's not just fellowship. It's not just enjoying each other. It's not just talking to each other, relating to each other, spending time with each other, being buddies with each other. The nature of biblical relationships shows a genuine concern. A genuine concern for the spiritual welfare of each other. It's not just temporal. It's not just circumstantial. It's not just superficial. It's a genuine concern that sanctifies, that has a spiritual impact on each other. And it demonstrates through visible commitment that genuine concern for the spiritual welfare for each other. Listen, it's well and good to make meals for people when they're sick. It's well and good to help people move. It's well and good to come along and help somebody with a door that's broken or, you know, the handyman kind of things. The many practical ministries that we have for each other. And you can see genuine family type concern, even in the early church. We'll talk about that in a few minutes in Acts chapter two, how they were selling their possessions to meet practical needs because they treated and viewed each other as family. But it's also got to go beyond that. It's got to include a genuine concern for the spiritual welfare of your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We've got to be concerned about seeing spiritual maturity and spiritual growth. Well, we've got to be concerned about sanctification and holiness and encouragement on to love and good deeds. We've got to be really praying for each other and following up on prayers. We've got to be really committed to spiritual maturity and growth. an active involvement in each other's lives, an active involvement in ministry. And I think one of the things that stands in the way of a lot of Christians in many churches, maybe even all churches, in really being spiritual and involved in the church, is that you view the ministry of the church as what happens on Sunday. Say, well, I can't really sing, I can't play the piano. I mean, I'm not gonna hang anybody out to dry here, but I will just say that in the case of my wife, when I said I wanted to go to seminary, she wept. She wept. She said, oh, I'm so sorry, I'm such a bad wife for you. I can't sing, I don't like talking in front of people, and I can't play the piano. You'll never be a success as a pastor. I'm standing in the way. I said, you know what? God does not call you to be a pastor's wife. He calls you to be the wife of a man who happens to be a pastor. They're not going to be hiring you, dear. Your full time job will be the same one you've been stuck with since you foolishly said, I do, and that's just being married to me. And as we have grown and matured, and she has seen how much I am able to do because of how much she does. I mean, you have no idea how much my wife does that facilitates me being able to do all this stuff that I do. And she willingly has made her life about that. Okay, that's a spiritual sacrifice. And that's the kind of a commitment that we need to have. There are so many ways that you can minister and encourage each other on to love and good deeds. And I just want you to see what that looks like from Paul's example, not so that you will take everything that he did and say, I have to do it exactly like that, but that you see the principles that are being described here and think about how can I be more genuinely concerned for other people in this household of faith? And how can I be more visibly committed to other people in this household of faith? Let's take a look at those two points together as we walk through the text now. 1 Thessalonians 3, starting in verse 1, God expects His people to have a genuine concern for the spiritual welfare of fellow believers. He expects us to have a genuine concern, not just for the temporal welfare, but for the spiritual welfare of fellow believers. Notice, Paul in chapter one says, you guys really are a model church. In chapter two, he continues to express to them his genuine concern for them and make reference to the past when he demonstrated that concern saying we were like a nursing mother caring for you tenderly as a nursing mother cares for her own children and likewise like a loving father looking for you to grow up and be spiritually mature. But what happened according to Acts 17? The Apostle Paul rolls into town, shares the gospel in a synagogue for three weeks. At the end of that, there are a number of Jews who get saved, there are some of the God-fearing Gentiles that are part of that synagogue that get saved, and even some Gentiles from the city that get saved. And the Jews who reject the gospel that are still part of that synagogue, they create a riot. And the end result is Paul is driven out of town. So Paul flees together with Silas and Timothy and they head down to Berea. And he preaches the gospel there. When the Jews in Thessalonica hear that Paul has just gone down the road to the next city and is doing the same thing there that he did here, oh, some of them pack up and they head out after Paul. Paul is forced to flee again and he makes his way down to Athens and then ultimately over to Corinth. It's about a year later when Paul writes 1 Thessalonians. Some of the things that have happened, and you'll see it as we walk through the text, are that the Apostle Paul, when he was in Berea, and then as they traveled to Athens, they talked about things that are going on in Thessalonica. And they talked about the things going on in Berea. And they made a decision that you're gonna see recorded for us in the text here, for the benefit of the churches over Paul's own welfare and his own well-being. Why? Because of his genuine concern for the spiritual welfare of fellow believers, including the Thessalonians and the Bereans. Take a look at the text with me. Notice he says, Therefore, when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone. Notice back in chapter 2 and verse 17, he says, We, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short while in person, not in spirit, OK, I've never stopped thinking about you. I've never stopped being concerned about you, but we were driven out. And we were all the more eager with great desire to see your face. We really wanted to see you. We really wanted to minister to you. Because we wanted to come to you. I Paul more than once, and yet Satan hindered us. I think you can practically recognize the way that Satan hindered them with the Jews from Thessalonica tracking them down in Berea, driving them out of Berea, and then they get to Athens. In fact, Paul no sooner gets to Athens than the Jews track him down there and drive him into a boat and he heads around the coast over to Corinth. Because there's such a strong opposition to the preaching the gospel. And yet, he says, who is our hope or joy or crown of exaltation? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ that is coming? You are our glory and joy. And you guys, listen, when I went to Philippi and I preached the gospel, You recall, he says this in the first two chapters, you recall how when we went to Philippi, we preached the gospel, and because we were doing God's work, we wound up getting beat up and thrown into prison. But yet we still had the boldness when we walked into town there in Thessalonica, we still had the boldness to preach Christ, and God graciously saved you. And the only reason we left was for your safety, for your security. and I still wanna see your face, I still miss you, I still care about you. Notice, Paul's concern for the saints in Thessalonica, the people that he leads to Christ, he just wants to see them grow, he just wants to see them mature. His desire, what he wants out of his life and ministry, out of his Christian life and ministry is spiritual blessing and maturity for the people that he works with, the people that he ministers to. You follow me? The one thing he wants back, For himself is their spiritual good. This is why I said this is kind of the secret to spiritual growth. For you and for the people you minister to. The secret to spiritual growth is spiritual growth is the one thing that you want more than anything else. Not just for yourself, but for everybody else. Paul did not preach for a paycheck. Paul did not preach for praise. Paul did not preach for prominence or power, or even pleasure for that matter. Paul preached for one reason, and that is to glorify Christ. And when people responded in repentance and faith, to help them glorify Christ as well. That's it. That's the heart of a true shepherd right there, a true spiritual leader, a true Christian's heart and desire. The one thing they want from ministry, the one thing they want from the church, the one thing they want from the people they minister to is to see them grow and mature spiritually and glorify Christ in their lives. That's Paul. Who is our hope, or joy, or crown of exaltation? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ that is coming? For you are our glory and joy. Therefore, when we could endure it no longer. When I just couldn't take it, when we, notice he says we, when we could endure it no longer. Some people say that Paul is using the royal we here, he actually means himself, that's possible. But the fact that 1 Thessalonians 1,1 starts with Paul saying, Paul and Silvanus, which is the long form of the name Silas and Timothy, are writing this. The three of them were all engaged in the conversation as Paul wrote this epistle. Paul says here, when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind in Athens alone. It's possible that the we that Paul is primarily talking about is himself. When we have an elders meeting, we agree to certain assignments that I will do, and by we, I mean Chuck, okay? And sometimes Albert, but usually he just laughs when Chuck comes up with things for me to do, okay? But when Paul is saying we here, he might be using kind of that royal we. But when you look down at verse 5, you notice he says, for this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about you. I think Paul's pretty deliberate when he's using we and when he's using I. When he says in verse one, when we could endure it no longer, you know what he means? When Silas and Timothy and I, when we just couldn't take it anymore, we had to get back to you. We had to see you. We had to minister to you. The three of us are working together, doing the Lord's work, going into new cities, and everywhere Paul goes, he gets a warm reception, right? He's welcomed as a conquering hero. Everybody wants to hear him and there's no threat to his life or bodily harm or anything else. Actually, it's exactly the opposite, isn't it? Everywhere Paul goes, he gets, I mean, it's like that old veggie tales. He gets tied up and beat up and thrown out of Babylon, kind of an idea, right? They stone him and leave him for dead. They beat him with rods. They throw him in prison. They drive him out of town. Everywhere Paul goes, that's pretty much what his experience typically is. And when he went into Thessalonica, just like in the first missionary journey, he's experiencing, he goes into Thessalonica, preaches the gospel, and some of the Jews from Thessalonica are following him down the coast to persecute him and stir up opposition. And yet Paul says, when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone. We, Silas and Timothy and I, all had a discussion, and you know what we came to consensus on? it would be better to just leave me at Athens and for Silas to go to Berea and for Timothy to come see you guys. You know why? Because even though it puts me in jeopardy and I'm here by myself, and Paul, by the way, winds up making a journey all the way over to Corinth and begins his ministry there by himself, we just thought it was absolutely essential For the sake of the saints in Berea, and particularly, and he's writing for Thessalonians, for you, we thought it was essential that Timothy come to you. Why Timothy? Because he's the only one not mentioned in the riots in Thessalonica that Jason put up a pledge. It's that promise that Paul not come back, so he doesn't. But he makes the sacrifice so that Timothy can come back. And they all consent to that. Why? Because that's what genuine spiritual concern for a fellow believer looks like. You'll make sacrifices. Verse 2, we sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ. And we sent him to you. Why? Because we're genuinely out for your spiritual welfare. To strengthen and encourage you as to your faith. That word strengthen. Syrizo is a Greek word. It means to to basically support something. Taught to prop something up to make it fast or upright. It's even can be used to describe giving an old man a cane. Or to support a vine with a stake. We live now. I know you'll have no appreciation of this, And Barbara, in particular, with all of your plants and bushes and everything, you have no experience with any of this, but we live up in the Antelope Valley, right? And the one thing it rarely does is the wind blows. I still remember when we moved up here, we bought a house. And the first thing we were told was, if you put in a new tree, you have to stake it up with the flexible ties, because the wind is almost always going to blow to the east. And if you don't want all the trees, like they are down along the road here, just growing up, pointing to the east, because the wind is blowing so much, you need to stake it up. Right? And you can't just stake it up with the stake right next to it because then it'll grow weak and then the wind will knock it down once it gets taller. It has to have some flexibility, et cetera, right? You have to prop it up, you have to stabilize it, provide support. That's the idea of the Greek word here. To strengthen, to support, to hold up so that it can become strong. We sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen you as to your faith and to encourage you as to your faith. What kind of encouragement can Timothy give? The same kind of encouragement that Paul did. The word encourage, it literally means encourage, beseech, urge. It's a coaching word. It's a comforting word. It's a motivating word. To say you're doing well and stay at it. To remind them that persecution is part of it. Affliction and hardship is part of it. Stay at it. You're doing well. Just because things aren't going well doesn't mean you've done anything wrong. I got to tell you, that was, I think, probably the biggest lesson that I had to learn when I first set foot on this campus. I remember standing over there and looking up in the night sky after an elders meeting by myself one night saying, Lord, if this is what my life in ministry is going to be like, So be it. Praise be to you. I miss Grace and I miss Clear Creek, but if this is what you're calling me to, then so be it. And I remember asking Dan many times, is it me? No, no, I think you're just doing what's biblical. I can't see anything wrong with what you're saying or what you're doing or what you're wanting us to do. It just seems biblical. I had to come to that realization in my own heart and my own mind and practical understanding that just because you do God's work according to God's word doesn't mean that everybody's going to jump on board and it doesn't mean that everything's going to go well. Just because you live a Christian life that honors God doesn't mean you're not going to have any trials. Doesn't mean you're not going to have any afflictions or hardships or people saying just because you're gracious and loving and encouraging and you sacrifice for somebody doesn't mean that they're not going to rise up later and accuse you of evil when all you were trying to do was good. I've seen that as part of my personal extended family on multiple occasions. Not to mention within the context of the ministry of this church through the years. You live a God-honoring Christian life. None of us are gonna live a flawless Christian life, but you live a God-honoring Christian life, I promise you, affliction, hardship, persecution, accusations of evil, and there will be a glint of truth through some of it. That's the only way to make it really hurt. You know what Paul and Silas and Timothy are concerned about for the Thessalonians? But as they continue to undergo persecution, they're gonna assume that they must be doing something wrong or it's not worth it. And Paul and Silas and Timothy all agree it's worth making the sacrifice that Paul stay in Athens alone so that Silas can go back to Berea and Timothy can go to Thessalonica and strengthen and encourage them so they're able to stand. Why? Because a characteristic of spiritual leadership is a characteristic of a spiritual life, and that's genuine concern for the spiritual welfare of the people that you've ministered to and that you're in ministry with. When we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind in Athens alone. And we set Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith. Why? Verse three, so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions. That word disturbed is a word that basically means to be upset or agitated. The word literally means to wag the tail. Now, I have to clarify this because most of you are probably dog people. And when you think of the wagging of the tail, you think your dog is happy. Okay, well, I am a biblical guy, so I am a cat person, okay? And I have three seemingly 500-pound dogs, that's a slight exaggeration, but I have three full-size dogs in my house because we are not going to have four. And we have three full-size dogs in the house, And when Madeline comes home or Catherine comes home, guess what we have? You guessed it, chaos. We have three huge tails wagging like this. And the girls think, oh, this is awesome, they're so happy, and I'm thinking, okay, let's put aside the breakables. This is why we can't have nice things, because those tails are going like this, and things are flying off the low shelves, et cetera. OK, when you think of this idea of being disturbed by afflictions, don't think of the happy face of the dog, OK? Think of the panic look in your own heart if you were trying to ride that tail being thrown side to side. That's the idea. And that's what Paul is saying. We don't want anyone to be disturbed. We don't want you guys to be tossed around wildly like, oh no, what have we done wrong? This is still going on and we're still being opposed. We've got people saying all kinds of evil against us, people persecuting us, people hating us because all we're doing is trying to live a quiet life for Christ. All we're doing is trying to help people be reconciled to God through Christ and declaring the good news of Him. And we're separating ourselves from idols and all of this. And all the people can do is accuse us of evil and they're filled with hate and disdain. Maybe we should just give up. No. We sent Timothy back to you to strengthen and encourage you so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions. The word affliction basically means tribulation, hardship, trouble. It's the it's basically the word for pressure. Verse three, for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this. You can even translate this as appointed for this set in place. This is the whole that this is the point of your Christian life. Is to stand for Christ in a sin, cursed and fallen world. These accusations, these charges, these afflictions, these hardships. You've been saved so you can stand for Christ as you go through them. This isn't something that's out of the ordinary. This isn't something that you're going through because you dorked something up. This is what you're going through because God has saved you to put your life on display as a genuine biblical testimony to Christ and your confidence in him as you go through it. I remember years ago, I think it was Chuck that directed me to this, I can't remember anymore, but there was a book written by somebody that said something like, don't waste your cancer, or don't waste your sickness, or something like that. I don't remember who wrote it or the title anymore, but I do remember the point. It was when you have a really severe trial, instead of looking continually for a way to escape from it, look for the way to take advantage of it and bring God as much glory as you possibly can as you go through it. Why? Because Romans 8 promises us that there's nothing that can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ. And he's working all things together for our good because we've been called according to his purposes. And if he really is sovereign, and he is, this is indeed the best way for you to glorify Christ. So instead of trying to find a way out or even a way through, focus your attention on how to bring God the most glory as you go through it. Because that's the whole reason for it. You yourselves know that we have been destined for this. Notice in verse four, the reminder, for indeed, when we were with you, we what? Kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction. And so it came to pass, just as you know. You ever been driven out of town? You ever been stoned, left for dead? Ever had your life threatened? Ever had somebody try to take away your life because you were preaching Christ? Paul had. Multiple times. And one of those times was in Thessalonica. One of those times was in Philippi right beforehand. You yourselves know that we've been destined for this. Indeed, when we were there with you, notice in most of your Bibles, you got the little word kept in italics. That's because it's really hard without throwing in an extra word to convey that continuous idea that Paul says actually in the Greek, we were telling you. in advance, an idea repeatedly. We were repeatedly telling you, kept on telling you in advance, we were going to suffer affliction. And it came, didn't it? Just as you know. It came. Well, how did it come? Well, the Jews were so jealous that did not come to faith, that rejected the gospel, they were so jealous, they hired thugs from the town and stirred up a riot and stomped off to Jason's house, where Paul was being housed and probably where the church was meeting, and they marched up to his house, And when they couldn't find Paul to drag him out and beat him up, what did they do? They dragged Jason before the leaders of the town with false accusations and threats. You know, persecution is part of it. Hardship, affliction, suffering, it's part of it. And Paul reminded the Thessalonians that's part of it. And even today, I think it's essential that you recognize one of the reasons that you might not be suffering very much persecution, one of the reasons why you might not have people accusing you of evil is maybe you in your Christian life aren't very open about your relationship with Jesus Christ. Maybe you aren't very often talking about the gospel to people that are unsaved around you. Maybe you don't actually address the issue of a standing before God with your extended family. Maybe the people you work with or work for. Maybe the people you go to the gym with. Or you meet throughout the course of your life. Maybe you're just not open enough or at all about the gospel. You can avoid persecution by doing that. You can also avoid a really God honoring life and testimony by doing that. You know, in Acts chapter 14. At the end of their first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas went back to all the churches they planted. And the text says they were strengthening the souls of the disciples. So as they went back through every church they planted during that first missionary journey, they went back and they were strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith and saying, listen to this, through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God. Tribulations, pressure, afflictions, hardship, persecutions, part of it. And by the way, this didn't start with the apostles. In the Beatitudes, in the opening on the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus himself, he starts with, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And he closes off with, blessed are you when men persecute you and revile you and say all manner of evil against you for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad. Why? Because that's the same way they treated the prophets who were before you, and your heavenly reward is great. To be a Christian means to be somebody who recognizes your spiritual bankruptcy and your total need of Christ, to come to a recognition of your sin, to turn from your sin and repentance, place your faith in Christ, dedicate yourself to living for Him, and be willing to suffer for His namesake. You get into the book of Acts, you'll notice that when the religious leaders who crucified Christ When they flogged the disciples, the apostles, for preaching Christ, they went away rejoicing they had been counted worthy to suffer for Christ. You ever been flogged? Then I guess our world is a lot easier. Our sufferings are a lot less severe and a lot less frightening in our context. Why is it that we are so opposed to standing for Christ and enduring those little insults? those minor afflictions. 2nd Timothy 3, verse 12, Paul says, Paul was driven out of town by the Jews because they were so opposed to the message and Paul was prevented from returning to town And according to 1 Thessalonians 2, you remember he says in verse 18, But I just want to put something in perspective for you for a minute. This is a footnote, so it doesn't count against my time, okay? But I want you to think about this. If you're Paul, or you're one of the Thessalonians at this point, and you're thinking, why wouldn't God just make it so Paul could come back and spend some more time? I mean, that would really be to our benefit. That would be to our advantage. That would be what we want, right? Wouldn't that have been better? Think about this. If God doesn't orchestrate the events and allow Satan to drive Paul out of there, 1st Thessalonians and 2nd Thessalonians never get written. What's more, that means the Apostle Paul doesn't make his way to Corinth, so 1st and 2nd Corinthians never get written. Oh, isn't that interesting? God orchestrates all the events in such a way that even we Generations, centuries, millennia later are blessed and benefited from it. Maybe God does know what he's doing. I'll just take the subjunctive idea out of that. God knows what he's doing in your life, in Paul's life, in my life, in all of our lives, and orchestrating all the events of redemptive history. And what does he expect of us? He expects us to go through every trial, every hardship, every affliction as an act of worship to him. And as we go through them, to not be concerned about ourselves and our temporary happiness or temporal circumstances or the temporal outcome or the way it works out, but instead to be to be primarily concerned about living a life that honors Christ and being concerned about the spiritual welfare and benefit and encouragement of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. For this reason, Paul says in verse five, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith for fear that the tempter might have tempted you and our labor would be in vain. You know, the one thing I was worried about was not whether or not you were persecuted, not whether or not you were treated harshly, not whether or not you were beat up or thrown into prison or even put to death. You know, the one thing I worried about, whether or not you would stay true to Christ through the whole thing. When I personally, Paul says, could endure it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. The implication is here he sent somebody else as a messenger just to report back. How are things going? Why? Because he was afraid that the tempter, the wicked one himself, might have tempted them and our labor would be in vain. That the whole thing would prove to be a waste and because you guys defected from the faith. What do we learn from this? We learn that we need to be genuinely concerned for each other, not just temporally, but spiritually. You know, we've gone through church discipline here through the years, I don't even know how many times. And I'd say round numbers, I haven't kept a numerical track, but I would say it's safe to say at least two out of three, if not three out of four people that we've gone to the point in church discipline where we've announced it to the church, that I'd say about three out of four in time have repented and been reconciled to Christ and to us. And those of you who've been around for decades, I'd say you would be able to agree with that math, right? The majority of the people we've gone through the process of church discipline with have, because of our faithfulness in this regard, at some level repented. Most repent at first or second step. I don't know how many times that I've had a conversation with somebody on a one-on-one level and just watched repentance and granted forgiveness and the restoration and that relationship winds up being better. Same thing happens in my household. Same thing happens in this household of faith. Well, why do we go through that process? Why are we so committed to church discipline? Listen, most churches think of church discipline as one really, really bad sin that you're trying to get that problem person out of the church. Matthew 18 does not talk like that at all. Jesus is never talking like that. Church discipline isn't about getting problems out of the church. Church discipline is about facilitating reconciliation. And that reconciliation can only happen if there is repentance and forgiveness. That's a concern for holiness, a concern for spiritual maturity and sanctification. Those are biblical concerns. We have to have that kind of a genuine concern for each other and spiritual growth and maturity as well. God expects his people to have a genuine concern for the spiritual welfare of fellow believers. Secondly, and this starts in verse 6 and goes all the way to the end of the chapter, God expects his people to have a visible commitment to the spiritual welfare of fellow believers. God expects His people to have a genuine concern for the spiritual welfare of fellow believers. He also expects His people to have a visible commitment to the spiritual welfare of fellow believers. Verse 6, but now that Timothy has come to us from you, in other words, now that Timothy has gotten back, And the implication when you work through all the calendars and everything, this is basically 10 to 12 months from the time Paul and Timothy and Silas first set foot in Thessalonica. 10 to 12 months later, so about a year later, Timothy finally gets back from all of this, and by now Paul is over in Corinth. And so Timothy has come to us, Silas is there again. So Paul and Silas are there in Corinth, Timothy shows up, and he has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we long to see you. Notice the nature of spiritual relationships here. There really is genuine affection. There really is pleasure in seeing each other. There really is a continuing concern. It's family. It's real biblical family. One of the things that is stressed at seminary and one of the things that I try to stress regularly is if Listen, when you go and you graduate and you're looking for that place that you're going to minister to, if you're going to look for a ministry, a guide or an elders board that you can grow up under and from there go out, that's fine. Or if you graduate and you're looking to become the pastor teacher in a church, If you're going to grow up under somebody and then go out, or you're going from seminary out, when you go to that church, you need to plan to give your life to that church, unless God directly moves you. I spent the first 15 years of my ministry here trying to convince everyone here that I actually was committed to being here. Do you believe it yet? No, Chuck doesn't, because he's afraid I'm gonna retire. Listen, I am gonna retire. And you can have the memorial right afterwards, okay? Because that's short of incapacitating me, that's my plan. Because listen, that's what the Christian life is, it's ministry. And hear me. They are praised by Paul for being a model church because they followed Paul's example. They, as members of the church, followed Paul's example. Folks, this is the kind of commitment you need to have toward each other and me, just like I need to have toward all of us. This is the Christian life. This is not some higher calling for spiritual leaders. Oh, it is the calling for spiritual leaders because it's the calling for Christians. We're part of the family of God. And this kind of a genuine concern for each other spiritually, not just temporarily. Listen, if you're really concerned about somebody and they're not eating, what are you going to do? You're going to share something to eat with them. If, listen, if they're laid up at home and the front door doesn't close, what are you going to do? We're going to figure some way to show up and fix it. Actually, I'll have Scott do that because if I did it, it would never be able to be opened again probably. But if you follow what I'm talking about, yes, you're talking about practical needs, and you're talking about spending time with each other, you're talking about having game days, and talent shows, and fun times, and skits during the fellowship hours, and those kinds of, oh, that's good. All the fun we have together, all the fellowship we have together, all the food that we enjoy eating together, that's all part of it. But it's got to be a concern for spiritual maturity and spiritual growth and looking for ways to engage each other in spiritual exercises and spiritual activities. Motivating each other to be more God's kind of husband, more God's kind of wife, more God's kind of father and mother, more God's kind of person. Paul says, now that Timothy has come to us from you and has brought us good news of your faith and love and how you always think kindly of us. Well, why would that matter to Paul? Because he loved him. He loved him. And it's so set his heart. At rest and filled him with joy that they had the same kind of an affection for him that he had for them. And that they were longing to see him and Silas just as we also long to see you listen. That's what spiritual relationships are like. There's a genuine desire to be with each other. There's a genuine concern for the spiritual welfare of each other. Verse 7, For this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction, we were comforted about you through your faith. The word distress here speaks of distress or pressure, often in the context of mortal danger. And affliction here is the standard word for tribulation that speaks of intense pressure. He says, for this reason, in all of our distress, including mortal threats and affliction, the constant pressure and affliction and hardship that we face in ministry, we were comforted about you through your faith. Listen. I don't know how to say this other than just to to basically borrow Paul's words again You got to be really concerned about the people in this church and how they're doing spiritually and How much they're making their lives about glorifying Jesus Christ You got to be concerned about that for yourself. I Tell me something, when it's Christmas time and you're a kid, it's kind of hard to control yourself because you can't wait to see what you got, right? Right? I mean, you're so excited and that's all you're thinking about. I mean, where's Donald? Donald hiding somewhere? Okay, so, oh, he is hiding, okay. So, but think about it as a first grade teacher when the kids are on those last couple of days before Christmas break, the kids aren't learning their ABCs anymore, right? Why? Because they're so excited they can't wait to see what they get, whether they got what they wanted. something that's the way most people live their lives day to day getting what I want this week looking forward you know TGAI Friday looking forward to the weekend so I can live it the way I want I work I did my work week for my boss and now I get to the weekend I live it for me you know what a Christian does every day Every day, it's Romans 12. How can I present my body as an act of worship to you, as my spiritual service to you? And the primary way is not just about what I don't, the sins I don't commit. The primary way is about the way that I give myself for the benefit of others. That's Paul's life. That's the example that he gave. And he says, verse eight, for now we really live if you stand firm in the Lord. You want to know what trips my trigger, Paul says? You want to know what I live on, what I can't get enough of? You want to know what really I drive so much encouragement and motivation to keep on? It's you. It's you. At Shepherd's Conference sometimes, I hear guys talking about, you know, there's a lot of pastors come in and you get an earful from lots of them. Many are complaining about the people that they minister to, how unappreciative they are, et cetera, et cetera. You know, I preach and preach and preach, and I've been covering this topic for six months, and then somebody hears a MacArthur message, and oh, he said it, and it's so awesome, and I'm going, I've said that every Sunday for the last 30 Sundays, why don't they listen to me? Do you know something? My thoughts of being John MacArthur or the second coming of John MacArthur or anything anywhere near him went away when I had him, before I had him in preaching class, okay? I mean, listen. Frankly, I don't care who you learn it from. And I don't care if you repeat what I have been saying for six months and think that it came from somebody else. I'm just thrilled that, you know, the truth and it's had an impact in you and you're living more a life that honors Christ. Whether it whether it took me saying it 50 times before the one time MacArthur says that you got it or not, I don't care. You know the one thing I want more than anything else? I want to be there and see you hear, well done, good and faithful servant from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and know I got to have a little part in that. That's it. That's the one thing I want from you. That's the one thing that I want out of this ministry and this church. I want to be there when you stand before the Lord and he says, Gray, well done, good and faithful servant. And no, I got to have a little tiny part in that. That's it. That's the only payment I really want out of this. I want to be there and see the smile on our Heavenly Father's face when you are commended and praised and rewarded for your faithful Christian life. Now we really live if you stand firm in the Lord Verse nine, for what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before God on your account? Do you see what Paul is saying? Do you know what really motivates Paul? I say this at seminary all the time. Rian's here, he can attest to this. I don't care what grade I give the guys in seminary in class. I really don't, and I mean it in the best possible way, I really don't care what grade you get in my class. And if you cannot do the work, I will flunk you and see you next year. Why? Because I want your investment and the sacrifices you and your church and your family have made. I want all of the investment that have been made in you coming here to actually reap the benefits, the dividend that you were after. And that is when you graduate, you can actually rightly divide the word of God for yourself. so that when you go out of here and you're turned loose on a church, you're actually of spiritual benefit to that church, and you're actually able yourself to handle the word and accurately proclaim the truth of his word to his people. And the only thing I want out of any of my students is the privilege to be there and watch you, here, well done, good and faithful servant. That's it. And then, oh, I got to have a little part in preparing you for that. Do you know something? That's not just my life, that can be your life too. For some of you, it is. Some of you are so characterized by encouraging unto love and good deeds. It's just a thrill to be in ministry with you. It's just a thrill to have a life that has some contact with you. And some are missing out on so many opportunities to really live a life that is not about you, but it's about Christ. and it's demonstrated in the love and affection and commitment and genuine concern for the spiritual growth and welfare of your fellow believers. Paul says, what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account? As night and day, we keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face and may complete what is lacking in your faith. Listen, I know you're not perfect. I know there's a lot of things you need to learn. I know there's a lot of things that I haven't had a chance to tell you yet. That's what the rest of the letter is going to be about. But I. I don't even know how to say thanks to God. I'm so thankful for the way that he is at work in you. Verse 11, you see his prayer request. Now may our God and father himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you. The form of the verb here is expressing a wish or a desire. This is a genuine bottom of his heart desire. May our God and father himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you. And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love. Notice for one another and what? For all people, just as we also do for you, that expression increase and abound. But that's there's a sense of exaggerated redundancy there. May the Lord cause you to increase in love for one another and for all people would be may you get better. Or may the Lord cause you to abound in love for one another and for all people. May you have an abundance. You put the two of them together. May you have an abundance. And they keep getting bigger. Just as we also do for you. What kind of love did Paul have for the Thessalonians? That even though he got beat up and thrown into prison in Philippi, when he walked into town in Thessalonica, they're all lost and he still shared the gospel with them. And by the way, some of the people in Thessalonica drove him out of town and chased him down all the way to Athens, looking to kill him. But he had a love for the people, even the lost people. And those who got saved, he had a love and an attachment. An affection that caused familial associations and commitments to kick in. This again in verse 12 is why I would say it's not OK for us to just be all this church can't just be all about our in-house fellowship. It can't just be all about us. It's got to be about the community in which we live. Show of hands, how many of you have, know an unsaved person that you have contact with on a weekly basis or more? Okay, have you ever broached the subject of the gospel with them? Why not? When are you gonna do it? Because we're commanded here, or Paul is praying for the Thessalonians here, not just to have an increasing and abounding love for one another, but also for whom? All people. That would include the Jews that are persecuting Paul. That would include the Jews and the people in the town there in Thessalonica that are persecuting them. Yes. Why? Verse 13, so that he may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. We talk about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, what are we talking about? We're talking about the rapture. We talk about being established in our hearts without blame and holiness before our God and Father. at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ together with all the saints. What are we talking about? We're talking about the beam and seed judgment. Now whether you, like we sang earlier, whether you pass through the veil, meaning you breathe your last and exit from this life and enter into the presence of God, or whether you get caught up in the rapture, in either case, in either case, What Paul is concerned for and what Paul is praying for is that the Thessalonians continue to increase and abound in love, not just for each other, but for all people, again, following his example, so that God establishes our hearts without blame in holiness before God there when we're taken home. How much time do you actually spend Thinking about God showing up How much time do you spend thinking about the rapture from a perspective of being delivered from things you don't want in this life as opposed to saying, I need to live to the best of my ability in a way that glorifies Christ and encourages my fellow believers and helps facilitate them in being a part of things that are spiritual and sharing the gospel with people who are lost so that when I stand before Christ, I can stand unashamed. Paul had an outstanding, overwhelming spiritual concern for the Thessalonians, would you agree with that? And that's the example that they followed for him as well, which is what made them a model church. There are a model church in less than a year. How long have you been part of this church? Most of you, it's a couple of minutes over a year. Would you agree with that? So what do we need to do as individual Christians and as a church? Follow Paul's example and follow Thessalonians example by having a genuine concern and a visible commitment to the spiritual welfare of each other and also together with that, a love for all people that moves us to encourage each other to work together to share Christ with those in this community, amen? Father, thank you so much for this day and for the countless ways you've blessed us, including every triumph and every pleasure, every tragedy and every calamity, every hardship, affliction, sickness, soreness, stiffness, success, failure. Thank you for your perfect love for us demonstrated and the love of Christ displayed at the cross and beyond. Thank you for your word, which so directly instructs and encourages us, and please help us, to really live lives all day, every day, that are focused on bringing you the most glory that we possibly can, and encouraging each other on to love and good deeds, so that together we might work so as to bring as much glory to you as we can. Help us encourage each other to broach the subject of the gospel with people that we haven't spoken to yet, or maybe it's been a long time. Help us, indeed, to dare to speak to each other about this and hold each other accountable to really be faithful to you in the areas of evangelism and sanctification. Thank you for the love that exists in this church, the love for you and for each other. Fill us with a love for you that's so transcendent, so increasing and abounding, that we might truly grow in our love for you, demonstrate it in our love for each other, and display it in our love for the lost and sharing the gospel with them. And I ask these things in Jesus' name, amen.