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1 Thessalonians 3:6-13, But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and 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 also long to see you, [7] for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith; [8] for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord. [9] 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, [10] as we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith? [11] Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; [12] and 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; [13] 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.
We’re hearing over and over right now from the conservative public voices, “What can we do to reverse the direction of our great nation? How do we stop the madness, the violence? The left, the so-called progressives, the anti-Christian secularists, and radicals are calling truth speakers haters and attacking them, sometimes with lethal weapons. What can we do about all this?” Unless those conservative public voices know Christ, their answers always come up short. They suggest providing more mental health hospitals because the perpetrators are mentally unstable. Mental hospitals may be needed, but that won’t reverse the direction of our nation. No, the hate and violence comes from sinners urged on by hearts at war with God.
Of course, we who know Christ, who believe the Scriptures, and who are committed to living for Christ know the problem is sin in the heart. We know when evil is unpunished, when biblical norms and standards are mocked, when the Bible is removed from education, and prayer is mocked even in the Congress, the fear of God runs dry and the hearts of men run riot. As one pastor put it, “Without Christ, we have chaos.” We’re like the Genesis 6:5 generation, “every imagination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually!” Ecclesiastes 8:11 says, “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.”
Charlie Kirk wrote the foreward to a new book entitled Pagan Threat: Confronting America’s Godless Uprising. This is his foreward: Casual Christians like to imagine we have already won a permanent victory over the worshipers of Moloch, Baal, and Jupiter, but those gods are now back with a vengeance bearing new names like “progressivism,” “tolerance,” and “social justice.” This new Paganism says a lot about “freedom,” but just like the old Pagans, its ultimate agenda is domination and moral anarchy.
What we need today are churches filled with people who love Christ and His Word and will stand strong for Christ regardless of the consequences. We need churches like the Thessalonians.
Last week we saw Paul deeply concerned for the Thessalonians. Did the enemy come in there and deceive and destroy them? Did they melt in the face of persecution and afflictions of various sorts? Did they desert the faith like Demas who loved this present world? So Paul decided to send Timothy up to Thessalonica to find out how the church was doing and give them more biblical instruction.
Now Timothy has returned with the best news any discipler could hear. Timothy reported, “The Thessalonians are thriving in their faith and love!” This news brought great joy to Paul’s heart. Paul says in verse 9, “We can’t thank God enough for you because of all the joy we have in knowing how well you are doing.” There is no greater joy than seeing people who have been steeped in sin, deceived by their own wicked hearts, guilty before God, and deserving eternal condemnation being drawn out of that horrible condition by God’s sovereign grace. What joy fills our hearts when we see them drawn to faith in Christ. They come out of their darkness into God’s light and turn from their sins. They are forgiven, made new creations in Christ, joined to Jesus Christ, adopted into God’s family, and made joint heirs with Jesus Christ, heirs of eternity. There is no greater joy than seeing this. We hope that’s true about you!
THE JOY OF DISCIPLESHIP
Notice Paul’s gratitude and joy in verse 9. Paul put a huge emphasis on joy in discipling God’s people. He makes joy a major part of the purpose in discipling them. He says to the Philippians “I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith” (1:25). He adds in Philippians 2:2, “Make my joy complete by being of the same mind!” To the Corinthians he says, “We are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are standing firm” (2 Corinthians 1:24). The apostle John said the same thing in 3 John 4, “I have no greater joy than to know that my children are walking in truth.”
A joyless Christian is like a cold sun. A joyless Christian needs help. John MacArthur warned, “Let me tell you something. If there’s a dour, sour, down at the mouth pastor, this is not a pastor’s heart.” So what feeds the joy of a discipler’s heart? Joy comes when he sees God’s people thriving in faith and love, hungering for more, and preparing for the coming of Christ.
JOY FEEDER #1 – WHEN GOD’S PEOPLE ARE THRIVING IN THEIR FAITH AND LOVE
1 Thessalonians 3:6-8, But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and 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 also long to see you, [7] for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith; [8] for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord.
Timothy brought good news – literally, the “gospel.” This is the only time when the word for gospel is used like this. He brought the good news that they were going on in their faith and love, plus they looked forward to seeing Paul again. That’s a good sign. Sometimes people don’t look forward to seeing the pastor. “Oh no, him again.” Many years ago I knocked on the door of a mobile home and smiled at the panic inside. You could hear right through the walls. “It’s the preacher. Hurry up!” Footsteps were scampering around inside. I wondered what they were hiding before they could open the door! “Hi pastor! So glad you stopped by.” Uh-huh.
Paul says the Thessalonians “always think kindly of us.” Attitude toward leadership is so important. Get a little disgruntled, let a little bitterness build up, suddenly instead of thinking these people are the next thing to heaven, your joy will drain out, your pistons will seize up like removing the oil plug under your car; you’ll see all kinds of warts and problems. You’ll sit in church chewing over how someone offended you, maybe the preacher. But these believers always thought kindly of Paul and his people. They loved them. That’s a healthy, joyful church. Few people have the world-wide platform of a Charlie Kirk, but we’re amazed at the outpouring of loving remembrance and the impact this one man had on people. The world-wide outpouring of love and appreciation has hardly been matched by one figure. He has lots of detractors and haters but those who knew him best loved him most. This is certainly the case with Paul. They knew Paul and loved Paul and this brought great comfort to Paul’s heart.
Paul says in verse 7 their healthy spiritual status and their faith toward God and love toward others brought him tremendous comfort in the midst of his own distress and afflictions. Don’t forget, while Paul was concerned about how they were handling their afflictions, Paul himself had his own distress and afflictions. Everywhere Paul went he had trouble. He had trouble with the Corinthian church. There were quarrels and jealousies. Someone was having his mother-in-law. They were suing one another. Some were even denying the resurrection! But when Paul got this good news about the Thessalonians from Timothy, he was so encouraged. You can handle all kinds of distress and afflictions when things are good between you and God and you have a clear conscience between you and your spouse, you and your family, you and your church. When Paul got good news about the Corinthian church from Titus, he says, “I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction” (2 Corinthians 7:4).
What about verse 8 in 1 Thessalonians 3? “Now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord.” Nothing brought Paul greater joy than knowing God’s people were standing firm in the Lord. Anyone who has invested time and energy in discipling others and helping them grow knows what Paul is talking about. Seeing God working mightily in people’s hearts and seeing them rejoicing in Christ, learning His ways, praying, living, and walking in truth brings great encouragement.
And there they stood, “firm in the Lord.” Not backing down. Standing firm pictures an army that refuses to retreat even though the enemy is assaulting it. Paul says, “Now we really live” when he hears of their firm faith in the Lord. He can breathe easier. He sees evidence of God working in their lives. His heart rejoices.
Over and over Paul called on God’s people to stand firm in the face of opposition. Don’t flee. Don’t hide. Don’t melt. Don’t give up. Don’t quit. Stand firm like Joseph did. Like Joshua did. Like David did. Like Jeremiah did. Like those three Hebrew youths did. Like Daniel did. Like John the Baptist did. Like Paul did, and Luther did, and Calvin did, and Knox and Whitefield and Spurgeon and John MacArthur did, and like you are – standing firm for Christ, for His Word, for the gospel, for creation, for the doctrines of grace, for Christ in your family, marriage, workplace, school, with friends, for the life of the unborn, for truth and justice, for sexual purity, for two genders, for biblical marriage, for the glory and honor of Jesus Christ. Stand firm in the power of the Holy Spirit, which is the only way you and I can stand firm in this godless world. This is the work of God.
Standing firm in the Lord is the only hope for our twisted, deceived, lost, confused, angry, violent culture today. The only hope for hardened, rebellious hearts is the Spirit of God taking out the stoney, resistant hearts and giving them hearts of flesh – ones that are tender, sensitive, obedient, and receptive to God’s will, hearts filled with the love of Christ and delighting in His Word.
“Now we really live,” said Paul, “if you stand firm in the Lord.” Stand firm like soldiers repelling an enemy attack. What feeds the joy of a discipler’s heart? When God’s people are thriving in their faith and love.
JOY FEEDER #2 – WHEN GOD’S PEOPLE ARE HUNGRY FOR MORE GROWTH
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, [10] as we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith?
Here’s a discipler’s heart. He can’t thank God enough for what He is doing in their lives. He can’t pray enough for them – night and day. He prayed while he worked and he worked while he prayed. He wants to get back to them, and he will! He wants to fill in some gaps in their spiritual understanding, and there were some. They needed instruction on godly morals, on the second coming, on the Antichrist, and on a biblical work ethic. So Paul prays earnestly to see their faces.
You can’t replace the fellowship of God’s people with technology. TV church is not good enough. Even when the message is biblical, it still isn’t church as God intended. It’s spectating, not participating. You don’t learn to wash the feet of other people there on the screen. The livestream is wonderful for people who can’t attend the services, but God’s plan is for His people to meet together regularly for instruction and training and worship and fellowship. Nothing will ever take the place of the local church with the face-to-face meeting of believers and in-person ministry of the Word of God.
Hebrews 10:24-25, and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, [25] not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
So Paul wants to plug up some faith holes in their hearts when he visits with them – to fill in some potholes. The word “complete” in verse 10 means to mend, fix, fill, equip. He wants to take them deeper in their faith, in their biblical understanding. We all have holes in our faith. A huge deficiency in many believers’ faith is their understanding of God Himself. Sometimes you hear believers say, “My God wouldn’t do something like that.” When you talk about God’s sovereignty you might hear someone say, “But God respects people’s free will.” We all need to go deeper in our understanding of God’s Word and in our sanctification. Godly virtues need to continually abound more and more. Second Peter 1:5 says, “Add to your faith virtue.” Not one of us has arrived. We need to add more virtue, more knowledge, more self-control, more endurance, more godliness, more brotherly kindness, more agape love (2 Peter 1:5-7). Paul wants to complete what is lacking in their faith. And by God’s grace and our reading and studying God’s Word, we too can abound more in our faith.
JOY FEEDER #3 – WHEN GOD’S PEOPLE ARE ANTICIPATING CHRIST’S RETURN
1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; [12] and 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; [13] 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.
Paul wants to go up to Thessalonica and he asks God to open the way, “may He direct our way to you.” Satan had put up hindrances but Paul knew God could make the way. He knew God was sovereign and trusted Him to take them back to the Thessalonians. Paul had no idea how God would do it. He prays to the Father and the Son. But how God will answer this prayer is unknown to Paul at this time. Commentator Hendriksen wisely says, “The time and the manner in which God answers our prayers is not determined by us but by Him.” God did answer this prayer five years later on Paul’s third missionary journey (Acts 20:1-2).
Notice in verse 12, Paul prays for God to cause the Thessalonians to grow. Joy comes to disciplers as they recognize their entire work is really God’s work. We plant and water but God gives the increase (1 Cor. 3:6-7) So Paul asks God to keep them growing, increasing and abounding in love. Those two words are very descriptive. Increase – more and more. But that’s not enough. Increase and overflow. He prays their love will grow to the point it is overflowing the edges of their lives to not only believers, but to everyone they meet! Here Paul zeroes in on this cardinal virtue, agape love. He prays that God would help them to nurture and practice this Christ-like virtue that denies self and puts others first. Paul tells husbands to love their wives like Christ loved the church! Increase and abound in this self-less, giving love.
Paul described this same agape love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 with 15 qualities. Overflow with patience and kindness. Put off jealousy. Quit bragging and being arrogant as if you’re perfect. Quit acting unbecomingly. Quit seeking your own selfish way. Stop getting irritated at others, quit holding grudges. Stop enjoying ungodly stuff but instead be excited about the truth. Bear all things, believe all things – quit suspecting everybody is out to get you. Hope all things – keep your eyes on Christ and His sufficient grace for your issues. Endure all things – don’t quit when things don’t go your way. Love never fails. God’s kind of love is fail-proof, guaranteed to succeed.
There you have it. Abound and overflow in your love for other believers, for your neighbors, and even your enemies. That’s a Christ-honoring Christian life. That’s fulfilling what Jesus commanded us: “that you love one another; as I have loved you, so love one another” (John 15:12-13). But don’t think for a moment you are able to pull this off in your own strength. You don’t have what it takes in yourself. That’s why Paul prays, “May the Lord cause you to increase and abound.” You need the empowering work of the Holy Spirit.
This is the joy of the discipler’s heart. This is what we pray for. Paul prayed that God would keep feeding His grace into the hearts of His people, that they would increase and overflow with God’s kind of selfless, sacrificial, giving love. Ray Stedman said many pastors measure success in terms of numbers and size and budgets, “But in the New Testament success is gauged by how much people learn to love each other, forgive one another, listen to one another, support and pray for one another, and reach out to those in need around them.”
In verse 13 Paul prays that God would prepare His people to give a good account at the judgment seat of Christ. He prays that God would establish their hearts blameless in holiness. God has justified us by faith alone in Christ alone. Then God by the Spirit empowers us to fight the good fight of faith against our sin – that is the sanctification process. And when we finally come into His presence, He will glorify us and make us just like Jesus. But right now as we walk this earth, He is preparing us to stand before him at the judgment seat of Christ, blameless in holiness. John Stott says there is no greater stimulus to holiness than the anticipation of Christ’s very presence. In chapter four Paul will explain what will happen when the Lord comes back and we are raptured right into his presence. One thing we know for sure – we’ll never be blameless in this life. Calvin said, “Even our best deeds in this life are spattered with our uncleanness, which we’ll leave behind when He comes for us!” But through God’s working in us to will and do of His good pleasure, we’re preparing for that big day when we all stand before Christ at the bema seat and give account of our lives (2 Cor. 5:10).
There is joy in discipleship. The feeders of that joy are when God’s people are thriving in faith and love, are hungry to grow and apply His word even more, and are preparing for Christ’s return at any moment. This is also the answer to those haunting questions about the pagan nature of our culture. Churches need to be full of Christ-loving, Word applying, Gospel preaching people who are salt and light in their communities. There is no answer to our pagan culture outside of Jesus Christ, His cross, His resurrection, His grace transforming the hearts and lives of sinners. May each of us be that salt and light to folks we meet in our daily lives. Introduce them to Jesus who declares, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” He is the one who dispels the spiritual darkness of sin and offers salvation to those who believe in Him.