The Suffering Church at Thessalonica - part 4
004 The Suffering Church at Thessalonica – part 4
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12 (11-12)
June 5, 2011
By now you are well acquainted with the Thessalonians
And even the purpose behind this letter that Paul is writing.
This was a young church (probably not even a year old)
This was a persecuted church
This was a confused church
Someone wrote a letter explaining that all of their persecution
Was evidence that God was angry.
Paul writes here to straighten out that notion.
And the result is a great chapter on the truth
About those who suffer persecution.
We have broken this chapter down into four points.
#1 OUR PURPOSE
(2) “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”
#2 OUR PRIDE
(4) “therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.”
#3 OUR PERSPECTICE
(5) “This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering.”
And so Paul has already given some great comfort and truth
To this young church.
Namely, persecution is not an indicator of God’s disfavor,
Persecution is an indicator of righteousness.
And if you suffer for the kingdom, rest assured that
God will grant you relief and will also punish those who persecute you.
And of course to understand those truths would be nothing short of
Grace to the life and peace to the soul.
Now they could know that God was not angry…
Now they could know that God was not afflicting them…
Now they could even take ownership of their suffering as a badge of honor instead of a mark of humiliation.
And in reality this is the way believers are told to view their suffering.
Jesus told us:
Matthew 5:11-12 "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Paul certainly viewed his own suffering in this light.
Galatians 6:17 “From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus.”
And this is what we are called to do as well.
When you suffer, don’t see it as a shameful thing,
It is high mark that you endured.
James 5:10-11 “As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.”
We are rightly enamored with those saints of old, who not only were persecuted for their faith, but who also endured.
And so Paul now gives that same encouragement to the Thessalonians.
Tonight we see the final point of this first chapter.
#4 OUR PRAYER
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
And of course this is vital.
· When we suffer words of encouragement or always nice…
· True doctrine in regard to suffering is necessary…
· And prayer on our behalf is absolutely invaluable…
Encourage me and teach me, but above all pray for me.
You see encouragement is great, but can be short lived for just as fast as one encourages me, Satan will counter attack with discouragement.
True doctrine is absolutely necessary, but even then there is the possibility that I won’t understand, or that I will forget.
But prayer on my behalf can never be undone.
And so it is only fitting to us that Paul closes this opening chapter
By revealing his prayer.
Before we get into the specifics of his prayer
We must notice a couple of things about this prayer.
NOTICE THE FOCUS OF PAUL’S PRAYER
“To this end also we pray…”
Just recognize here that Paul is very specific, not only as to how he prays,
But also in that he tells the Thessalonians how he is praying.
I actually have people tell me they are praying for me all the time.
Sometimes it is from people who agree with me.
Sometimes it is from people who don’t.
I’ll never forget one of the deacons at Crawford who really did not like me telling me, “I pray for you every day.”
I really wanted to ask him what he was praying.
(That I would drop dead?)
But you understand the point as to how our prayers
Can at times be of the generic nature.
“Lord bless so and so…”
“Lord protect so and so…”
“Lord guide so and so…”
And this is somewhat problematic.
DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT JESUS SAID ABOUT EFFECTIVE PRAYER?
John 14:13-14 "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”
John 15:16 "You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”
John 16:23 "In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you.”
And we have talked about those before, that is not a blanket invitation
To treat God like a genie.
Rather, Jesus is saying when you pray according to My will,
Then I will grant it.
John makes this clear in his first epistle.
1 John 5:14 “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
And that means that effective prayer at least to some extent
Is specific prayer.
It is when we pray specifically according to the will of God,
That God responds.
And that is why you have to like how Paul prays here.
It is specific.
And that is the norm for him.
Philippians 1:9-11 “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.”
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.”
Ephesians 1:18-19a “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.”
Even Jesus prayed the same, just go back and read John 17
And here Him specifically ask for purity and unity for His disciples.
So certainly we learn to be specific when we pray.
We also must notice
THE FREQUENCY OF PAUL’S PRAYER
“To this end also we pray for you always…”
The fact that Paul never ceased to pray indicates both
His concern for the Thessalonians, and his dependence upon the Father.
He never quit caring for the Thessalonians and he never tried to take matters into his own hands apart from the intervention of God.
Paul continued to pray and to pray specifically.
Now let’s look at the specifics of his prayer.
1) THAT GOD WILL WORK THROUGH YOU (11)
And in that verse you actually find three things that Paul is asking for.
“God will count you worthy of your calling”
“God will…fulfill every desire for goodness”
“God will…fulfill…the work of faith with power”
And the beauty of Paul praying specific like this, is that
Not only is he praying according to the will of God,
But he is also simultaneously encouraging the Thessalonians.
In short he is both praying to God and challenging the Thessalonians
To be worthy, to desire goodness, and to work for the faith.
If I come up and say to you, “I am praying that God will grant you boldness in the sharing of your faith”,
Wouldn’t you recognize that also as an encouragement
To go out and boldly share your faith?
That is what Paul is doing here.
It is both a prayer and an exhortation.
First “that our God will count you worthy of your calling”
And this request represents one of those tensions
That we love in the Scripture.
Someone might say, “Why would Paul pray that, I thought only Jesus makes us worthy.”
And that is true – POSITIONALLY
But Paul is speaking about being worthy PRACTICALLY
You see the sacrifice of Christ made us positionally pleasing to God.
In a positional sense we are righteous, we are worthy, we are pleasing.
Yet, in a practical sense we are far from righteous,
We are far from worthy, and we are far from pleasing.
So even though Christ makes us righteous, in this life we still strive for it.
And even though Christ made us worthy, we still strive for it.
That is what Paul meant when he wrote:
Ephesians 4:1 “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,”
Philippians 1:27 “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;”
Colossians 1:10 “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;”
And this is the same emphasis Paul is giving here.
While we are declared righteous by Christ, the heart of a believer
Is to strive to make that practical in their life.
And Paul says, “I am praying that God will help you as you strive to live a life worthy of Him.”
I am praying that God will make you worthy.
I am praying that God will recognize your striving to be worthy.
And obviously that is not only a request but a strong encouragement
To strive to live a life worthy of God.
The second request is that “God will…fulfill every desire for goodness”
And again you have to love what Paul says.
He does not say that God will fulfill every desire, as though God
Were some kind of genie bound to give all that we ask for.
James tells us quite the contrary:
James 4:3 “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
James is clear that God is not in the business of answering selfish prayer.
God is in the business of furthering His kingdom.
And so Paul says here, “I am praying that as you desire goodness, God will help you attain it.”
So long as you strive to be good, I am praying that God helps you in that.
What a prayer and what a clear exhortation.
Thirdly that “God will…fulfill…the work of faith with power,”
Again, Paul is not praying that God will empower them.
Paul is praying that God will grant power to their “work of faith”
Much is said about “empowerment” today.
Everyone wants to be empowered by God.
But God is not in the business of empowering people
So that they can put on leotards and a cape
And strut themselves as empowered people.
In fact Paul clearly taught us that God loves to thrust His power
Upon the weak, for it is when we are weak that we are strong.
And what we learn here is that Paul prays
That so long as they are embarked in “the work of faith”,
He is praying that God will give them “power”.
It is impossible to miss Paul’s point.
You do right, because I am praying that God will help you when you do.
So Paul’s first specific prayer request is that God will work through them.
2) CHRIST WILL BE GLORIFIED IN YOU (12a)
“so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you”
And here Paul gives the reasoning for his prayer.
Certainly Paul cares for the Thessalonians, that is obvious.
But don’t make the mistake of assuming
That his sole purpose for praying is their success.
Paul always has the bigger picture in mind.
And with Paul it is all about the glory of Christ.
Paul traveled…
Paul wrote letters…
Paul preached…
Paul prayed…
Paul endured…
Paul suffered…
FOR ONE PURPOSE
So that Jesus might be glorified.
Paul rightly understood the purpose of the church,
And that is the glory of Christ.
Some no doubt would argue that the purpose of the church is missions,
And we certainly don’t argue the importance of missions.
But even missions is a means to an end.
John Piper said it this way:
“Missions exists because worship doesn’t.”
Missions and evangelism are the means by which
We lead the world to worship God.
It is vitally important that the focus remain on God at all times.
The church doesn’t exist for the benefit of man.
The church exists for the glory of God.
And so Paul is praying “To this end”
He wants them to walk worthy…
He wants God to fulfill their desire for good…
He wants God to fulfill their work of faith…
And the reason he prays for that is “so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you.”
There is nothing more glorifying to Jesus than a righteous church.
We can talk all day long about His sacrifice,
But the effectiveness of His sacrifice is measured by what it accomplished.
We can talk all day about His resurrection,
But the effectiveness of His resurrection is measured by what it accomplished.
We can talk all day about His authority,
But the effectiveness of His authority is measured by what it accomplishes.
In short, if Jesus death, burial, and resurrection do not produce holy obedient people, then just how powerful was it?
Let me give you another illustration.
I can talk to you all day long about effective parenting.
I can attend seminars, I can teach seminars on parenting.
I can wear T-shirts that say, “World’s best dad”
BUT IF YOU WANT TO TRULY JUDGE MY PARENTING SKILLS,
WHERE WILL YOU LOOK?
My kids.
And so it is with Christ.
He is glorified when we live right.
When we throw off sin…
When we die to self…
When we desire goodness….
When we work for the faith…
These things bring glory to Christ,
And that is why Paul prays for these things.
He wants Christ to be glorified.
That God will work through you That Christ will be glorified in you
3) THAT GLORY WILL BE SHARED WITH YOU (12b)
“and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Notice that Christ is not the only one who Paul wants to receive glory.
Paul also wants the Thessalonians to be glorified “in Him”.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN EXACTLY?
This does not mean that Paul wants the Thessalonians
Worshiped in the world, or adored for all eternity.
What Paul speaks of here is vindication.
· This church was being hammered in the world for the way they lived.
· They were told they were displeasing to God…
· They were told God was angry…
· No doubt the Jews called them a cult or a false religion…
And any time you live a life under that type of strain,
It is certainly refreshing when God steps in and lets everyone know
That in fact you were right when it was they who were wrong.
We call that vindication.
If you will remember, this is what Elijah wanted.
(Him vs. 450 prophets of baal)
He prayed:
1 Kings 18:36-37 “At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, " O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. "Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again."
And no doubt the Thessalonians would have liked that as well.
The good news is that God is a God who vindicates
Those who suffer according to His will.
Listen to Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:
Matthew 10:24-26 "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. "It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household! "Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.”
That last statement there is all about vindication.
Remember what Jesus told the church at Philadelphia?
Revelation 3:9 “Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie — I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.”
TURN TO: COLOSSIANS 2
What is obvious in this letter is that the Colossians
Were being judged by others as to how pleasing they were to God.
(vs. 2:16-19)
Of course Paul reveals that the standard being thrown over them
Was not a godly standard, but was instead a foolish man-made standard.
(vs. 2:20-23)
And then comes Paul’s promise of vindication.
(vs. 3:1-4)
“hidden” translates KRUPTO (cryptic)
In other words you are serving God now, and are pleasing to Him,
But others cannot see that. It is hidden from them.
But when Christ comes and all is revealed, then it will be revealed
That you were the one who was right, while they were all wrong.
And this is what Paul wants for the Thessalonians.
He wants them to be vindicated before their opponents.
He wants them to be glorified with Christ.
But the only way this will happen is if they walk in a manner worthy, desire what is good, and work for the faith.
So there you have the opening remarks to this church.
· We want you to have grace and peace.
· We want you to know that we are not ashamed of you, but are in fact proud of you.
· We want you to know that God is angry, but not at you. He is angry at those who persecute you.
· We want you to know that we are praying that you will stay the course so that not only will Christ be glorified, but so that you also will be vindicated with Him.
That is refreshing truth to a church that is suffering.
It encourages us as well.
For whether or not persecution comes is beyond our control.
However, striving to be worthy, desiring good,
And working for the faith are things we can do.
And if we are expected to do them while suffering,
Then certainly we are expected to do them while we are not.
So we too push forward.
2 Thessalonians 2:14-15 “It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.”