The Strongest Encouragement
1 Thessalonians 3:11-13
As you know we are studying through 1 Thessalonians,
And it doesn’t take us long to realize that this is a letter
All about encouragement.
The Thessalonians had encouraged Paul through their obedience,
And now Paul seeks to encourage them with this letter.
And we have learned much about encouragement.
• It can came from the words we say as well as the example we live.
• It can be comforting like a mother, or stern like a father.
But the main thing we have learned is that true Christ-like encouragement always leads a person to holiness.
With that being said, tonight I want to show you the absolute STRONGEST ENCOURAGEMENT you can give to another person.
PRAYER
When we pray for a person we are literally taking their name before the great and awesome God, for He can do in their lives what we never could.
And so tonight we want to talk a little bit about
The encouragement of prayer.
We all know how important prayer is.
Samuel actually said to his people:
1 Samuel 12:23 “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way.”
Samuel did long to instruct his people.
Samuel did long to encourage his people.
But first and foremost Samuel longed to pray for his people.
And Paul certainly understands the importance of this as well.
Listen to what he says in some of his other letters.
Romans 1:9-12 “For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.”
Rome was a city Paul had never been to,
But one he desperately desired to go to.
Ephesians 1:15-19a “For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”
Unlike the Romans Paul had spent 3 years in Ephesus.
And yet Paul’s encouragement was the same, he prayed for them to grow.
Philippians 1:8-11 “For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
The Philippian church was also one Paul started (Lydia and jailor),
And because Paul had a firm affection for this church, he prayed for them.
Colossians 1:9-12 “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.”
The Colossian church was not one that Paul started.
In fact Paul had never been there either.
Instead Epaphras traveled to Paul to get help on how to lead this church.
And even though Paul could not see them in person, he prayed for them.
Some churches Paul knew, some he even started.
Others he was completely unfamiliar with,
And yet his practice was the same: PRAYER
Prayer was the one constant to Paul’s ministry.
It is blatantly obvious that prayer is absolutely essential
In our desire to encourage one another.
We don’t just talk to them, we talk to God for them.
AND PAUL WASN’T ALONE IN THIS
Consider Jesus.
John 17 is a great chapter.
There we see Jesus praying for us.
John 17:9-13 “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. “But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.”
He not only encourages us.
He not only commands us.
He not only teaches us.
He also prayed for us.
And you remember some of what He prayed for.
• Our Purity
• Our Unity
• Our eventual promotion to be with Him.
Prayer mattered to Jesus as He sought to encourage us.
Remember what Jesus told Peter when He sought to encourage him?
Luke 22:31-32 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
And of course not just Jesus
We also read of the Holy Spirit:
Romans 8:26-27 “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
And we also see that this was the desired method for an apostle
Who desperately wanted to encourage his people.
And so we would be in error if we did an entire study on encouragement
And did not mention the important role that prayer plays in that process.
Tonight we are fortunate for we get to see what exactly Paul prays.
Not only does it help to show us how to pray,
But it also helps us see the goal of our encouragement of others.
Now you will notice that three times Paul uses the word “may”
(11) “may our God”
(12) “and may the Lord”
(13) “so that He may”
And in those three statements we find the three things
That Paul was asking God to do.
“May God”
#1 STRENGTHEN YOUR FAITH
1 Thessalonians 3:11
Now obviously to better understand what Paul is getting at here
We have to remember what we studied last week.
We said that Paul was an encouraged apostle thanks to the good report he heard from Timothy about the Thessalonian church.
And we saw Paul’s Renewed Commitment.
1 Thessalonians 3:9-10 “For 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 we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith?”
And so we know why Paul wanted to come to the Thessalonians.
To “complete what is lacking in your faith”
Paul didn’t just want to come to enjoy their company (although he would).
Paul wanted to come to strengthen the faith of the Thessalonian believers.
And now, that is precisely what he prays for.
“Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you.”
Paul wanted to come because he wanted to grow their faith.
And we understand that teachers is one of the ways that God does that.
Ephesians 4:11-13 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
Where would we be without God’s word?
Where would we be without people to teach it to us?
I will forever be indebted to men like Adrian Rogers, or John MacArthur,
Or Matthew Henry
Our faith grows as we learn more of God.
Remember the last couple of weeks as we have studied the book of Acts in Sunday school we saw the truth of this.
First with a man named Apollos.
Acts 18:24-28 “Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.”
Apollos was good, but he still needed to learn and he was even better.
Then we learned it with the Ephesian elders.
Acts 19:1-7 “It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. There were in all about twelve men.”
There again knowledge was invaluable to the growth of their faith.
And this is also true in regard to all the churches.
• The Corinthians were confused about the resurrection.
• The Galatians were confused about circumcision.
• The Thessalonians (2nd letter) thought they missed the 2nd coming.
• The Colossians were confused about the deity of Christ.
They needed someone to come and teach them fully
In order to grow their faith.
Knowledge and faith run hand in hand.
That is why Peter says:
2 Peter 3:18 “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”
1 Peter 2:1-2 “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,”
Knowledge matters.
And so it becomes obvious why Paul prayed.
He knew that he needed to come and teach the Thessalonians,
But Satan was hindering him.
And therefore the only way for Paul to come and encourage them
Was if God opened the door.
And that meant Paul needed to pray.
So he prayed that God would “direct” his way to them,
So that he could strengthen their faith.
May God (strengthen your faith)
#2 SHARPEN YOUR LOVE
1 Thessalonians 3:12
Not only did Paul want to come and strengthen their faith, but also “may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you;”
Here we see the specific area in which Paul wanted their faith to grow.
LOVE
WHY LOVE?
Because love is THE most genuine fruit of true faith.
WHAT IS THE GREAT COMMANDMANT?
“Love God with all your heart”
WHAT IS THE SECOND?
“Love your neighbor as yourself”
And it doesn’t get any bigger than that.
Matthew 7:12 “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
Romans 13:8-10 “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
Point being that we have reached the pinnacle of faith
When love is exhibited in our lives.
Listen to the apostle John.
1 John 2:9-10 “The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.”
1 John 3:13-14 “Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.”
1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
1 John 5:1 “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.”
Love is the measuring stick of true saving faith.
An unloving Christian is an oxymoron.
An unloving Christian is an absolute contradiction.
A person’s faith is measurable by their love.
In fact, remember what we studied in 2 Peter?
We talked about that list by which we evaluate ourselves
To make certain about His calling and choosing us.
Peter gave that list of character attributes by which we evaluate our life.
Remember where the list began? – faith
Remember where the list ended? – love
2 Peter 1:5-8 “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
God is taking us from unbelievers to those who love like He does.
And therefore the goal of any person in their encouragement
Is to encourage others to love like God loves.
We don’t just encourage people to know more.
We don’t just encourage people to believe bigger things.
We don’t just encourage people to attend church more.
We don’t just encourage people to cheer up.
Ultimately our encouragement has a goal,
And that is to produce in them the love of Christ.
But here is the real important fact to this.
Regardless of how hard we try.
Regardless of how hard we teach.
Regardless of how great of an example we show.
WE CANNOT PUT LOVE IN THE HEART OF ANOTHER PERSON.
Only God can do that.
Romans 5:5 “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
And so it is obvious the path that Paul is on.
• He is praying that they will love.
• And to help them love he is praying that God will help him get there to teach them.
He encourages them, but ultimately he prays for them.
May God strengthen your faith
May God sharpen your love
May God
#3 SOLIDIFY YOUR HOPE
1 Thessalonians 3:13
And here we come to the great end of our encouragement ministry.
This is why we encourage.
This is what we want for those we encourage.
WE WANT TO GIVE THEM HOPE
“so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.”
Now listen to what Paul is saying there.
• We want you to be established in holiness.
• We want you to not only be holy before God, but we want you to know that you are holy before God.
• We don’t want there to be any doubt in your mind that you are pleasing to God.
HAVE YOU EVER DOUBTED YOUR SALVATION?
I can’t imagine a Christian never taking inventory of their life
And not being concerned about some of what they see.
The fact is, there are times when even a Christian looks at their life
And sees things present that they wish were not there,
And it causes them concern.
One of those concerns is, “Am I ready to meet God?”
Friend, that is no insignificant question.
AM I READY TO STAND BEFORE GOD?
IF JESUS RETURNED TONIGHT AM I READY TO SEE HIM?
That is a scenario of massive implication.
And not only does Paul want people to be ready for that day,
But he wants them to know they are ready for that day.
You see it is possible to be saved and not feel like it.
It is possible to be 100% forgiven and pleasing to God and yet not feel it.
And that is a miserable way to live.
(To be safe and not know it)
Furthermore Scripture never intended for a believer to live there.
That is why Scripture routinely talks about assurance.
1 John 5:13 “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
AND JUST FOR THE SAKE OF BIBLE TRIVIA,
DOES ANYONE KNOW THE MAIN THING SCRIPTURE ASKS
IN ORDER TO HELP YOU KNOW?
Scripture asks about your love.
Your love for God and your love for people.
LOVE FOR GOD
1 John 2:28-29 “Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.”
LOVE FOR PEOPLE
1 John 4:16-18 “We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”
And John even says that the presence of love
Should set your mind at ease as to your eternal destination.
1 John 3:18-20 “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.”
The point is that love is the truest fruit of genuine Christianity.
It is not something we can produce in ourselves,
It is only something God can produce in us.
And once we see that God-like love become evident in our life
It is an undeniable indicator that we are God’s children.
And when we know this we can have hope for the day of eternity.
We don’t have to live in fear of His coming.
We don’t have to live in anxiety of His return.
And that is the result of encouragement.
DO YOU SEE THE POINT?
• We encourage people by teaching them the truth.
• The truth of God grows their faith.
• Their faith is evidenced by their love.
• Their love stands as assurance that they are pleasing to God.
And when you look at it like that, there is no greater gift
That we could give to another believer.
Could I say anything to you tonight better than, “I have been to heaven, I have seen the Lamb’s book of life and I know without a doubt your name is in it.”
That would make anyone feel good.
Well obviously I can’t do that,
But if I encourage you by teaching you,
And help your faith grow so that you walk in love,
Then you can look at that love and know that God has saved you.
That is a great encouragement.
BUT IT ONLY OCCURS THROUGH THE POWER OF GOD
• Only God could open the door for Paul
• Only God could grow faith
• Only God could grow love
• Only God could generate hope
And therefore the most essential part of Paul’s encouragement
Was his prayer life.
All the best intentions in the world were useless if God was not at work.
All the purest desires in the world were useless if God was not at work.
If we truly want to see Christ produced in the lives of one another…
If we truly want our brothers and sisters to be encouraged…
If we truly want our brothers and sisters to have hope…
THEN WE MUST PRAY FOR EACH OTHER
It is absolutely essential.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”
