1 Thess. 2:17-3:13 “Are You Invested?”

1:14But love them or hate them, no one can argue that they aren't invested in the success of their teams. From a financial standpoint, both of these men have spent hundreds of millions, even billions of dollars. To make their team successful. And from an emotional standpoint, well, all you have to do is watch when the camera pans to their seats to see how they feel about every score, every bad call, every win, every loss. They are invested.

1:55Last week we saw how Paul defended his time in Thessalonica, reminding the believers of all that they saw with their own eyes and heard with their own ears. The missionaries taught the truth and lived in a way that was holy, righteous, and blameless before God in front of the Thessalonians. They were invested. I want you to keep the examples of Mark Cuban and Jerry Jones in mind as you think about the ways that you've approached your own brothers and sisters in the church.

2:33Are you as invested in their spiritual success and well-being as these owners are for their teams? The previous section was a defense of Paul's ministry in Thessalonica. Today's text is a defense of his absence. Remember, their critics seem to be saying that they hadn't returned for selfish reasons. Because they weren't actually invested in the spiritual well-being of the Thessalonians. Well, Paul refutes those charges by explaining why they haven't returned and reinforces their commitment to the Thessalonians by sharing their hopes, their prayers, and their actions on behalf of them. His point is that he and his co-laborers are fully invested in their well-being.

3:27And, friends, what we're going to learn today, how we're going to be challenged, is that Christians invest in others so they will stand fast in the Lord. You'll recall that Paul and his team were only able to preach for a few weeks before they were run out of town by a group of Jews who opposed them. They had Jason arrested, who was hosting Paul and his team in his home, and he and several Christians there in Thessalonica were dragged before the city authorities, were fined, and warned. So, the young Christians thought it would be best to send Paul and Silas away in the middle of the night. And it seems clear that's not what Paul and Silas wanted, even if they agreed that leaving town was the right decision.

4:17Here in verse 17 of chapter 2, Paul refers to that experience as being torn away. That Greek word means something like to make an orphan of. And refers to parents being bereaved of their children. If you think back to the earlier section, Paul used the language of parenthood to describe their feelings and actions toward the Thessalonians. Take a look back at chapter 2, verse 7. He says, But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. Look at verse 11 of chapter 2.

4:57For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you. Paul's point is that they were completely invested in the Thessalonians, to the point that their feelings could be described using the language of parenthood. They saw themselves as spiritual mothers and fathers to these people. And so, when persecution forced them out, Paul saw it as a bereavement. It was a painful tearing away as though they as parents were being torn away from their very children. They felt as though they were leaving these new Christians, their spiritual children, to fend for themselves as orphans. And they hated that.

5:44So Paul wanted them to know that no matter what the critics might be saying, this separation was only physical. It was not emotional. It was not spiritual. Take a look at what he says. But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, In person, not in heart. That's why he and his companions, look what he writes, endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face. Verse 18, because we wanted to come to you, I, Paul, again and again.

6:23So over and over, Paul is pressing home the point that they want nothing more than to come back to Thessalonica. That is what they have been working toward. That's what they've been praying for. That's the thing that they want the most. And that's because, as we see in verse 20 right here, for you are our glory and joy. Christians, when your greatest desire is to be used by God, to see people come to faith in Christ and to grow in their faith, to grow in holiness and godliness, when that is your greatest joy and honor, the crowning achievement of your life, to make disciples, to be used by God to watch them grow, then you are going to be able to talk about other Christians in this way. For you are our glory and joy.

7:13That's how they were able to talk about them, because that's how they felt. So, brothers and sisters, how would you answer the question this morning? What is your hope or joy or crown of boasting before? Our Lord Jesus at his coming. What is your hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? I think about John Piper's book, Don't Waste Your Life. In that book, he pictures a retired couple who spends the last 30 years of their life traveling, playing softball, collecting seashells.

8:04And he pictures them standing before Jesus on that last and final day. And all they can say to the Lord for the last 30 years of their life is, Look, Lord, see my shells. Years ago, Kendra hung a sign above the staircase in our home with the words of the missionary C.T. Studd: Only one life, t'will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last. Only one life. This is it. There are no do-overs, there are no second chances.

8:54What is your hope, or joy, or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus? At his coming, what will you show him? What will you point to as you give an account for your life? The life that you have been entrusted with, the gospel that you have been entrusted with, the good news of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, the opportunities, and resources, and money, and everything else that you've been given as a gift from the Lord. What will you point to on that great day?

9:30Friends, the greatest contribution that we can make, the way to make a real difference today and in eternity, is to invest in the spiritual well-being of others. That is the way to do it. It's to spend our time, our money, and our energy for the eternal good of others. You see, Paul was invested in the spiritual well-being of the Thessalonians, no less than a mother or father is invested in the spiritual well-being of their children. Are you that invested in the lives of others that God has placed in your sphere of influence and under your care?

10:13Paul and his companions wanted nothing more than to get back to Thessalonica, but there was a problem. Take a look at the end of verse 18. But Satan hindered us. How exactly did Satan? Hinder them from returning to Thessalonica. We don't know. Paul doesn't say anything about it in this letter or in the next letter. He doesn't give any specifics. So perhaps it was a credible threat made against their lives by the Jews, and they were prevented from coming because it would have cost them their life. And they and the Christians in Thessalonica said, it's better for you not to risk that.

10:56Many of us know that in 2 Corinthians, Paul talks about the thorn in his flesh, that messenger of Satan that was sent to torment him. So maybe Paul was so sick or weak or ill or whatever that he couldn't go. Or maybe it was legal action taken against Jason. Remember, he was taken to court and he was fined. And so maybe if Paul and Silas returned to Thessalonica, he was going to lose his home, his job, his freedom, maybe even his life. And they didn't want to put Jason through that.

11:31Paul doesn't say, so we don't know, but what we do know is that Paul credits Satan, or maybe I should say he blames Satan for their inability to return. Paul sees the situation for what it really is, which is spiritual warfare, an attack by the one who opposes God and his people all day, every day. Look at 2 Corinthians 2:11 on the screen. In this section, Paul is instructing the Christians to forgive the repentant so that we would not be outwitted by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his designs.

12:14Church, we have to be aware of the spiritual war that is raging all around us, led by our enemy, Satan. Because we have God's word, there's no reason for any of us to be ignorant of his designs. We have his playbook. We know the ways that he has operated all throughout human history. He will tempt us to doubt and question God's word like he did with Adam and Eve. Did God really say? He'll tempt us to question God's character and motives as he did with Adam and Eve.

12:54God doesn't want you to eat the fruit because he knows that when you do, you will be like him. He'll tempt us to be jealous and envious and bitter towards one another, as he did with Cain toward Abel. He'll tempt us to wallow in guilt and shame after we have sinned and fallen short, like he did with Peter after he denied Jesus. Or he'll tempt us with good things. Encouraging us to believe the lie that this world and all that it offers is better than God and what He offers us, as He did with Demas, Paul's associate.

13:41We are in a spiritual war, friends. That is why alarms mysteriously don't go off when you have said, I'm going to get up to read the word and pray this morning, or I'm going to meet a Christian for fellowship and encouragement. That is why, seemingly, every time you set out to go to worship or to start serving or to go to membership class or to visit a life group, something comes up and you don't make it. It's why kids can never find their shoes on Sunday morning.

14:16At every turn, Satan is hindering us through temptation, distractions, sickness, trials, various sorts of designs and schemes. It's not to say that Satan is directly responsible for every bad thing that happens in your life. I'm not saying that. But I am saying that so many of us Christians live as though Satan does not even exist and that he has nothing to do with the trials and the temptations and the difficulties that we experience on a daily basis.

14:48So, brothers and sisters, let's not be ignorant of Satan and how he works. Let's study the word so that we can know his schemes. Let's put on the armor of God and take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, as Ephesians 6 tells us to do, and let's go to battle against Him. Let's remember that greater is He who is in us than He who is in the world. Satan may work to hinder us, but friends, the Word is clear: He is fighting a losing battle.

15:26We are the ones who will ultimately be victorious because Jesus was victorious. Chapter 3, verse 1. 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 in 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 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.

16:29After Paul and his Team were driven out of Thessalonica. They went to Berea, but they were driven out of there too. And so they went down to the city of Athens in stages. And at some point, they were so concerned that they sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to see how the Christians were getting on, perhaps because he was less recognizable to the authorities than Paul or Silas. This was a sacrifice. Athens was a tough city, it was filled with idols, and Paul had a lot of opposition and opportunity there. So he could have really used Timothy's help in Athens.

17:13But he realized that the Thessalonians needed Timothy more. And so he was willing to sacrifice his own desire for Timothy's help and fellowship for their good. And friends, this is what we do every time we send gospel workers to the field. In 2017, Nathan Forbes was on staff here at New Life as our missions and community pastor. And Cody and I loved working alongside him every day, and we didn't want him to leave. But over time, it became clear to Nathan and to Rebecca and to us and to the church as a whole that God was calling them to go, to go to training and then go eventually to the field to plant churches.

17:58And now, seven years later, Later, they have planted Risaka City Church, and they are making disciples on the border of Texas and Mexico. Praise God for that. His departure was a very real sacrifice for us. The loss of a godly, effective, evangelistic staff pastor who was and is a great preacher and a great shepherd. In some senses, it took us years to recover, but sending him was definitely the right thing to do. As Christians in an age of self-care, we cannot only ask the question, What is best for me or what is best for us?

18:52We must ask the question: What is the will of the Lord? What is best for God's people everywhere? Those are the questions that we must ask. Now, it's possible that the Thessalonians may have thought, why didn't Paul and Silas come? Why did they send Timothy, their junior associate? And so Paul reminds them in verse 2: take a look there, he's not only their brother, but what? God's co-worker in the gospel of Christ. God's co-worker. That is such an astounding phrase that some men and women who later translated the Bible actually changed the word in other languages because it sounds too intense. God's co-worker? God doesn't have co-workers.

19:48But, friends, that's exactly what it says. And that is exactly what we are. Not because we have ascended to that position through a series of promotions because of our great performance, but because God Himself has called us ambassadors. He has said that we are His representatives, His vice-regents on this earth, to display His glory and to tell the good news of the gospel to others all around us. Like Timothy, we are all God's co-workers. Friends, that is truly amazing.

20:26And He sent Timothy for this purpose. Take a look at the end of verse 2: to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions. You see, because they had to leave so quickly, the missionaries did not have time to teach the Thessalonians all that they needed to know so they could be firmly rooted and grounded in their faith. And that becomes clear in the rest of the letter, where we see that there was a lot of confusion, a lot of uncertainty.

21:01Surrounding things like what happens to Christians who die before Jesus comes back? Will they be saved? How exactly is Jesus going to come back? Is it possible to miss his coming? Is it true that maybe we missed the second coming of Christ? They had all of these questions. They're good questions. And so they sent Timothy to give them instruction and encouragement that they needed, which was essential if they were going to stand firm in their faith in the midst of the trials that they were going through. Because as Paul notes in verses 3 and 4, here, all Christians are destined to suffer for their faith one way or another. That is exactly what Paul and his team promised to these young Christians. You are going to suffer. And that is exactly what they experienced. And so Paul did not want them to be moved by these afflictions. He didn't want them to conclude because Satan was tempting them to believe that God didn't care about them or that the gospel wasn't true or that they were suffering because they didn't have enough faith, as the prosperity gospel preachers will tell you. They didn't want them to believe any of those things. So they sent Timothy to establish and exhort them in their faith.

22:24You see, brothers and sisters, a right understanding of God's word, his promises, and his character are absolutely essential to suffering well as a Christian. In his excellent book, A Call to Joy and Pain, Ajif Fernando makes the point that during trials, many Christians are unnecessarily unhappy when they suffer because they do not expect to suffer at all. Let me say that again. Fernando says that many Christians, think of yourself and how you've responded to the last trials in your life. I had my arm all the way up inside an engine that I do not understand yesterday, trying to remove a part that I could barely describe, that I could not see.

23:18And I had tears in my eyes, not because the grease was falling all over me, which it was, but because I kept thinking to myself, why is this my life? Fernando says many Christians suffer unnecessarily because they don't expect to suffer at all. If that is our attitude, if we expect to coast through this life and have everything go our way, have no trials, no setbacks, no discouragements, no financial Troubles, no health troubles, no mocking or persecution in our workplace or in our classroom. If we expect to coast through life as Christians, when we suffer, we are going to be shocked, offended, angry, sad, depressed, you name it, because we don't expect to suffer at all.

24:18And that is why God's word says in 1 Peter, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you as though something strange were happening to you. This is the deal. Cars break. You get sick. Finances are not what you would hope. Relationships fail. This is the deal, living in a broken world. Persecution is guaranteed for our faith. Affliction comes up so often in the scriptures because God is telling us that when we make disciples, it is incumbent upon us to teach about suffering and to pray about suffering and to model how to suffer in a godly way so that young Christians will understand what to do when suffering inevitably comes into their life.

25:20It's critical. But friends, we remember that as we experience all of these things, as the author of Hebrews tells us, we are looking forward to the world. To the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. That is the good news. That is our hope. It's not in this world. Let's pick up in verse 6. But now that Timothy has come to us from you and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you, for this reason, brothers, in our distress and affliction, we have been comforted about you through your faith. For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord. For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, as we pray most earnestly night and day, that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith.

26:31In the midst of all their distress and affliction that Paul and Silas were going through, Timothy's encouraging report lifted their spirits. In fact, this is the one time in the New Testament where the phrase good news does not apply to the gospel itself. This is the one and only time that that phrase does not apply to the gospel itself. Instead, it applies to Timothy. Timothy's report about the Thessalonians' faith and love and longing to see them.

27:06Look again at verse 8. Paul says, For now we live if you are standing fast in the Lord. The sense here is: now we can breathe again. Now we can rest easy. Now we have a new lease on life because you are standing fast in the Lord. That's how invested they were in the Thessalonians. Look at 3 John 4. John says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

27:45Church, is that how you feel about those men and women, those boys and girls that you are discipling? Is that how you feel? That you can live, that you can breathe, that you can finally rest easy when you know that they are standing fast in the Lord. That is how you can know that you are invested when your joy is made full by seeing others walk in the truth. You know, one of the hardest things about doing ministry in this context is that we have most people with us for an average of three to four years and then they move on.

28:29That is a really Really hard thing. But one of the greatest joys is knowing that they are growing in faith, that they are growing in godliness, that they are growing in Christ after they leave here because of the investment that we have made into their lives. New Life, do you realize that there are well over a thousand people who are former members or attenders of this church, who now live elsewhere in our country or in the world, who are leading in their community, who are leading in their church, who are now married or married with children, and they learn to do all of those things in a Christ-like way in part because of the investment that you made in their life.

29:27Through the way that you discipled in NextGen, through the way that you discipled in class, through the way that you modeled and taught and prayed and shared burdens and struggles in life group. They are who they are today in part, perhaps in large part, because of your investment in them. That is a great thing. That's the joy that Paul felt when he learned that the Thessalonians were walking in faith and love. So in verses 9 and 10, he thanks God for the joy that they feel and prays that they'd be able to return to see the Again, let's wrap up here with verses 9 through 11. Excuse me, 11 through 13.

30:12Now, may our God and Father Himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Paul's prayer can be broken down into two requests. The first is that God would make a way, that he would overcome, as it were, the obstacles and hindrances of Satan so that they could get back to them.

30:50And his second request is that God would increase and abound their love for one another and for all. So he asked God first to increase their love, that it would grow, that it would be more than it is now for each other, and that he would increase their love, that it would grow, that it would be more than it is now for all Christians everywhere. That's the first part of that request. You see, Scripture teaches us that God is love, and only those who love God and others know God.

31:26So our love more than anything else is the Barometer for our knowledge of God. You cannot claim to know God if you do not love God and love other people. The whole letter of 1 John is making that point, and so Paul prays that their love would increase. But you notice that he doesn't stop there. He doesn't simply ask that God would make their love increase. He prays that it would abound, that it would overflow for each other and for other Christians.

31:59You see, growing in love is a good and desirable thing, and hopefully every Christian here can say, I have grown in love for other Christians over time. But the apostle's goal for us is not merely that our love would increase, that it would go up by a percentage point or two each passing year. His goal for us is that it would abound, that it would overflow, that we would love other Christians with the supernatural ability that only the Holy Spirit can provide. So, Christian, how is your love for other believers? How would you assess it? I'm not merely asking about your feelings, although I do hope and pray that our feelings for one another deepen over time.

32:50I'm asking about your prayers, your actions, the tangible ways that you've sought to care for and build up other men. Members of the body of Christ. Because we will know that our love is increasing and abounding when we are doing the works of love to one another with greater frequency. So, Paul prays that our love would increase and abound. Last verse, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

33:30Jesus taught that all of the law and the prophets could be summed up in the command to love God and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. And so, Paul is making that connection. He is saying that our hearts will be established before God, holy and blameless, as our love for other Christians grows and abounds. In other words, Jesus is coming back with all of his saints throughout history. And when he does, Paul wants the Thessalonians and he wants you and me to be able to stand before Jesus with confidence because of our faith in him that is demonstrated by the way that we love God and we love other people. That is what gives us the confidence to stand before Christ. That our faith has motivated us and empowered us to love as Jesus has commanded. Look at 1 John 4:7.

34:27Beloved, let us love one another. For love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Friends, Paul, Silas, and Timothy were invested in the spiritual well-being of the Thessalonians. We can see it in this letter as they share about their prayers, their hopes, and their anxiety. And I am certain that nearly every person in this room has someone as invested in their spiritual well-being as the Thessalonians had Paul and Silas and Timothy. I am nearly certain that every person in this room has somebody that invested in them. Have you ever thought about that?

35:22That your grandmother or grandfather, your mom or dad, your brother or your sister, your coworker, your neighbor, your friend stays up late, gets up early, prays for you, thinks about you, plans for conversations with you so that they can either encourage you toward faith in Christ or so they could see your faith in Christ increase. I am certain that nearly every person in this room has at least one person that invested in them. Isn't that amazing to think about? That God loves you so much that He has placed it on one or more people's hearts to be that invested in your spiritual well-being. That is an amazing thing.

36:15My friends, today could be the day that God answers their prayers. Because maybe today is the day that you, for the first time, acknowledge your need for salvation, your need for forgiveness. Maybe today is the day that you turn from your sin and turn to Christ in faith, looking to Him and to Him alone to save you from your sin and its consequences. Make our joy complete. Make their joy complete by making this the day that you receive Christ.

37:04You don't need to clean yourself up first. In fact, you can't clean yourself up first. Instead, come to Christ, He will receive you, and He will begin to change you. Christians, it is a marvelous thing that we've been called not only God's children and friends, but His co-workers. We are his ambassadors that he is making an appeal through to this lost and dying world. Let's continue to spur one another on to pray and to sacrifice to see others established in the faith, investing in them so that they might stand firm in the Lord. Let's pray.

38:15Father, we celebrate the fact that almost every person in this room can think of someone who has invested in them to this level. We thank you for those who prayed, who patiently shared the truth with us, who loved us enough to call us to faith in Christ before we knew you, before we desired that, before we wanted anything to do with you, because you love us so much. We pray that every one of us would take fresh stock of the people that you have sovereignly and providentially placed in our lives, and that we would take the kind of ownership that we see from Paul and Silas and Timothy. God, we pray for those that we have been praying for for many, many years-friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, we pray that you would bring them to saving faith in Jesus even today.

39:33Would you reach them, Lord, as only you can? Make us faithful. Make us bold. Make us courageous and joyful as we share the good news and the hope of Jesus Christ. It's in His name that we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.