Download 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13

1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13
I wonder what you expect to get when you open the bible. As a young English
evangelical, there are a few straight forward answers that spring to mind- I expect to find the
Word of God (whatever that means), I expect to find instruction, maybe encouragement,
maybe interesting stories from a long time ago. If I’m going to go further than just opening the
bible, and actually think hard about it, then I probably expect to be challenged, and especially
I think I expect to be criticised- because I’m quite aware that in many ways I don’t really come
up to the mark that the Bible gives.
Those expectations aren’t usually disappointed too badly… particularly in the New
Testament letters, because the authors were generally writing to young, struggling churches,
with the whole array of problems to worry about- the temptation of sin, old traditions reemerging and eclipsing the gospel, false teaching, and persecution. Most of the time the
authors of the letters are addressing those specific challenges, rebuking error, and showing
the young churches the correct approach. If you’re quite a negative person like me then
that’s quite easy reading, we tend to be very good at seeing the flaws within ourselves and
focussing on those.
1 Thessalonians then can come as a bit of a surprise- one commentator described it
as a book of “unmingled sweetness”, because there’s not a clear piece of outright criticism in
it. Paul’s definitely deeply concerned for the church, and there are huge challenges for us in
this letter, but he’s writing to encourage and strengthen it, he’s pleased with them, he’s
satisfied, overjoyed by what he sees in them, and the whole letter sings with that.
So the question for us to ponder here for once isn’t ‘what’s wrong with this church’,
but rather ‘what’s so good about it that again and again Paul describes how thankful he is to
God for them?’, what is it that Paul is looking for in a church? And if we take him to be a good
example- what is it that Jesus is looking for in a church? What’s the hallmark of a church that
is responding to the gospel in such a way that it fills Him with joy?
I’ll take Ken Giles’ suggestion and phrase the question as “How do you make your
Pastor a happy man?”, because Paul is just so excited by this Thessalonian church- look at
chapter 2 verses 19 and 20 “For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory
in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed you are our
glory and our joy.” That’s such a powerful statement- and I think I’d like to be the kind of
Christian that evokes that joy in the people who have taught me the gospel. Wouldn’t it be
wonderful to be the kind of church that inspires that feeling in our leaders? And in Jesus
when he comes? I think so…
So “How do you make your Pastor a happy man?”, what is it about the Thessalonian
church that made Paul so happy?
Well, as we’ve heard over the last two weeks, Paul was only with this church for a
relatively short time, as described in Acts 17, there was a strong response to the gospel,
particularly among the God-fearing gentiles, but before long Paul and his friends were driven
out by Jews who opposed the gospel, who even pursued them to the next town Berea, and
Paul was forced to move right the way on to Athens, miles away.
Now Paul’s fear was that despite the way the Thessalonians had soaked up his
teachings while he was with them, when they saw him apparently abandon them after such a
short time, and when they saw that he faced such persecution for the things he said, might it
not call his teachings into question in their minds? You could hardly blame them for thinking
“if this guy loves us so much, like he seemed to when he was with us, how come we get
abandoned so quickly?” or “if this guy’s message is really from God, how come he faces such
intense opposition from the religious elite? And if we’re not sure of that do we want to face
that opposition as well?”.
Paul knew that they had to have been asking questions along those lines, he knew
there could be confusion among them, and he knew that there would be a strong temptation
to step back a little from the gospel towards more orthodox, safer Judaism. Essentially he’s
worried that their faith wouldn’t hold- that their trust in the truths they’d accepted would waver,
and that rather than letting those truths determine their lives they might slip back to letting
their actions be dictated by the culture and world around them.
For them that might mean dropping the emphasis on the things that distinguished
Christians from Jews- meeting for communion, or claiming that Jesus was the Christ rather
than simply a good human teacher. There would be pressure for them to expect gentile
converts to be circumcised, and to adhere to the old Law.
Paul feared that despite his teachings, despite his warnings that all of this would
come, they would give into that pressure, their faith would waver, and the young Christian
church would just be absorbed back into contemporary culture.
Paul’s in agony at the thought of that, and so he explains to them in chapter 3 verses
1-6…
How do you make your pastor a happy man? You send him good news about your
faith, you let him know by the example of your life that the truths you’ve received are
influencing and determining the way that you live. Now obviously that’s a huge challenge, I
think on the whole we’re a fairly well taught bunch, either from preaching here, or at previous
churches, or from books or whatever… but naturally there are likely to be areas of our lives
individually or as a church where we don’t always put that truth into practice.
An example- if I believe that at the cross Jesus freed me from the burden of my sins,
and promised me heaven to come, and if I believe that as God Jesus provides everything I
need now, then naturally everything I have now is best used dedicated to him. But in practice
I set aside much less of my income than I initially earmarked for giving… through laziness, or
disorganisation, or disinclination.
As a church we believe in serving each other, and working together as the body of
Christ… but isn’t it easy to take the excuse of busyness, or tiredness, or family, or a hundred
other things, so that when simple jobs need doing they get left to the same small crowd of
volunteers?
A challenge for us then is to think where in our lives do we hold back from putting our
faith into action? Where in our lives do we need to improve on luke-warmness, if we care
about being pleasing- not only to our pastors, but to Jesus when he comes?
Well Paul gives one crucial sign that the Thessalonians have real faith… it’s easy to
spot because what really shines out in this passage is the importance of love. It’s actually
Paul’s genuine, deep, love and concern for the Thessalonian church, it’s totally unmissable,
and he’s writing about it because he considers it to be the crucial sign of active faith.
How do you make your pastor a happy man? Live a life of faith, demonstrate it with a
life of love.
It’s worth picking out some characteristics of that love
It is intimate- in verse 17 he calls them “brothers”, he considers them genuine family,
he doesn’t love them in some abstract way from afar, it’s close. As Brits we’re not a
very touchy feely bunch and perhaps we tend to shy clear of that kind of language
with each other “brother, sister”, unless we’re using it slightly ironically. But not Paul!
He’s not ashamed of the depth of his love for this church.
Later in verse 17 he describes the separation as being “torn away” from them, the
language carries connotations of violent orphaning- like a parent torn away from their
child or a brother from his family… he’s genuinely pained being absent from them,
and he’s got such longing to see them that he’s really making huge efforts to get
round the obstacles in his way and reach his loved ones. I’ve got friends all over the
country that I don’t get to see very often, and it’s sad, it’s a shame. But to be honest
with only a little effort I could be in regular contact with them by phone or e-mail, and
most of them I could easily see once a year on a weekend, or by using some of
ridiculous teacher holidays. Perhaps I just don’t care enough about them… but Paul
loves this church so much that he struggles to see them despite the barriers in his
way (chapter 2 verse 18), and he’ll accept inconvenience for them- he’ll go without his
friend and supporter Timothy for a while, even though that must have been hard, so
that he can find out how they’re doing and make sure they’re encouraged.

It’s concerned- Paul doesn’t just focus on the positives and have a simple matey
friendship with them, he doesn’t just like to spend time with the Thessalonians, or get
on well with them, it’s not just that he was polite to them on Sunday mornings, or that
if he bumped them in the street he’d exchange some small talk and ask how the week
was going… he’s got a real concern for their welfare. He’s terrified that they would be
confused by the suffering and opposition they encounter, or by the persecutions he
suffers. In verse 5 he’s terrified that in some way they would have been tempted or
led off track. And so he’s prepared to act on that concern so that his love is active.

His love is prayerful and thankful. It’s shown several times in the letter: chapter 1v2-3,
chapter 2v13, chapter 3:9-10, Paul is constantly thanking God for the Thessalonians,
for the amazing work that He’s done there, and Paul’s constantly lifting them up to
God and asking for their protection and growth. He is devoted to them in prayer and
thanksgiving.

Finally Paul’s love for them informed by heaven- the reason he’s so passionate about
this church, that he cares so deeply, is that he knows their value in eternity. Look at
chapter 2 verse 19: “For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory
in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed you
are our glory and our joy.” Paul doesn’t love simply because of who they are, or the
things they do, or because they look nice, he loves them because they are part of the
eternal inheritance and glory of Jesus in heaven.
That’s not just an incentive for Paul because he’s their spiritual father, the founder of
their church. It’s not just an incentive for evangelists with regards to those that
they’ve led to Jesus. It’s an incentive for any Christian- Jesus promises that we will
share heaven with him and all the church, forever… it’s a glorious promise so of
course we should love them now.
A guy I knew at university once told a friend of his “I’ve got eternity in heaven to
spend with you Rycroft; I might as well avoid you while I can”. Paul’s saying “I’ve got
eternity in heaven to spend with you, I don’t want anything to jeopardise our
inheritance now.” His love is informed and driven by heaven.
So Paul loves this church passionately, and actively, and the reason he’s taking so
much time to show them how he feels is because that’s what he’s looking for in them as well...
It’s the most important and most convincing sign of Christian faith that he could get. Look at
chapter 3 verse 6 again, Timothy’s brought back good news about the church’s faith- they’re
well grounded, their not losing sight of the wonderful gospel they’ve received- but more than
that- Timothy’s “brought back good news about your faith and love.” Literally Timothy’s
brought back a gospel to us- that’s how he feels, it’s like the good news of Jesus to him- and
“He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us,
just as we long to see you”
Paul’s ecstatic because what he’s heard from Timothy confirms that this church has
truly received God’s word and truly responded to it- they’re showing the hallmark of Christian
living… lives where repentance, where understanding of their salvation and how it’s been
achieved, knowledge of their hope in heaven, openness to God’s word and the Holy Spirit,
lives where all of that results not just in “good living” but in active genuine love for each other
and those around them.
The Thessalonians have followed that massive instruction he’s given to other
churches: Romans 13v9-10 “Love your neighbour as yourself… love is the fulfilment of the
law”, Colossians 3v14 “over all these virtues put on love”, Galatians 5v6 “the only thing that
counts is faith expressing itself through love”… not the law Galatians, not circumcision, just
Love. The Thessalonians are doing that, and that’s why Paul’s pleased with them.
And it’s what he wants them to carry on doing- look at his wonderful prayer in verses
10-12. Their love isn’t a binary thing, which you either have or don’t have, and that’s it. It’s
an organic growing thing; it’s a vine of love with its roots deep down in their hearts, in Jesus
and what he’s done, growing out and bearing fruit into the world around them. Paul wants
that love to grow further, to spread wider to be more fruitful and stronger… because that’s
what a Christian church should look like.
Well, what about us, how do we fit with that? Well to be honest, I think we are a
loving church in many ways. When I first joined the church it was one of the things which
attracted me- how quickly I was welcomed, and asked after, and made part of a house group.
But of course there’s room for growth… so let’s be dedicated to being a loving church.
Let’s strive for intimacy or closeness… it’s a struggle, and if you’re an antisocial
physicist like me it sometimes goes against the grain, but isn’t it great, and encouraging when
you’re chatting to someone in church and you feel secure enough to talk honestly about
what’s going on in your life and what you’re struggling with or encouraged by. Isn’t it
encouraging when people are concerned enough about each other that they remember
what’s going on, and ask about it when they meet again maybe two weeks later, or when
they’re prepared to help out, to do simple practical things to serve each other when needed.
How good are we about loving the whole church? I’ve been here three and half years
now, I’m beginning to get to know people… but I’m aware that my friendship group in church
is very much dominated by those in a similar stage of life to me. Of course that’s natural, but
isn’t it worthwhile to use opportunities like house groups or the day away to really get to know
people beyond your own social group. After all we’re not several different churches which just
happen to meet together- one composed of students, another of the twenties and thirties,
another of married couples with children to worry about, another of the TOFFs… we’re one
body in Christ, so perhaps we can sometimes afford to be more conscious about increasing
the range of people that we mix with. Maybe the bunch of us who head out for lunch after
morning services need to keep thinking about how to sometimes make that accessible and
not horribly expensive for people with families… maybe sometimes planning it in advance so
that it wouldn’t mean abandoning other plans for a more organised family to come along. Or
maybe you’re someone who cooks a mean Sunday roast- well, it’s really appreciated when
you invite people to join you… it’s a wonderful way to get to know people in different parts of
the church, for students and younger people to get to know and appreciate some of the older
and wiser members of the church, and vice-versa.
Let’s strive to be an openly prayerful and thankful community, I’m terrible at this, I’ve
got an awful record with prayer diaries… but I know I’ve found it so encouraging when people
have phoned or e-mailed me and said “Hey, I’ve been praying for you about the youth group”
or something else. Let’s give each other that encouragement and support. As we’ve got
some members of the congregation heading off to university let’s be diligent in prayer for
them, and let’s use tools like e-pray and house groups to keep each other updated, and give
fuel for the prayer and thanksgiving.
You see, we need to be a community of love like this, because it’s the proper
response to the faith that we claim, to the love that Jesus has shown us. We need to be like
this because just like the Thessalonians we are going to face times of confusion,
discouragement, and suffering- and the love of a church community is something that will help
carry us through that. We need to be like this because we’ve got a responsibility to take the
gospel to others… but in whatever events or methods we use very little is going to be as
attractive, or effective in commending our message, as the love and respect with which we
treat people, because that is our reflection of Jesus’ character.
And of course we need to be like this because the criteria which Jesus has set out,
the fruit of the gospel is loving Christianity, it’s how we bring glory to his name, and it’s what
he’s going to be looking for when he returns, not luke-warmness or half-heartedness to each
other. As Paul puts it in chapter 3v13, this is our way of being blameless and holy in the
presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
So how do you make your Pastor a happy man? Well you send him good news
about your faith and love.
I suppose the tricky thing is thinking about how to get there- as Dan reminded us at
the beginning of this series, if we go away from here thinking “I must have more faith”, or “I
must be more loving”, then we’re on a hiding to nothing. We fail that challenge with
remarkable regularity. The Thessalonians didn’t impress Paul because they were nice guys,
or naturally loving, and they certainly didn’t manage it simply because they wanted to please
him. No, the Thessalonian church will have lived reformed Christian lives because according
to chapter 2 verse 13 they received the message about Jesus as the word of God- they
believed it and continued to depend on it.
If we’re going to go away from here and begin or continue to live reformed Christian
lives, then we’ll need to do the same. We’ll need to look to the cross, where our sins were
punished in Jesus instead of us, we’ll need to look to the resurrection where he guaranteed
his promises of heaven to come, and we will need to depend on him day by day. Each week
as we come here we’ll need to ask him to teach us, we’ll need to depend on his Spirit to
change us and grow us into faithful, loving Christians.
Essentially we’ll need to put ourselves into that glorious position of weakness, where
we acknowledge that nothing we do will be sufficient, but instead depend with absolute
certainty on the God who can provide everything we need. That is how we can gain this faith
and love, to make our pastors and Jesus happy.