Message 3 - Memories - Tough Love

1 Thessalonians 1:3

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SPEAKER_01 0:01

What comes to mind when you hear the word love? Maybe it's watching a young couple say their I dos before a pastor and the witnesses, or seeing your grandchildren cuddle up to each other in bed during their sleepover at grandma's, or maybe driving down the car and looking in your rearview mirror, and you see one of your children break off a piece of their candy and give it to share with the other one, and you didn't even ask them to do it. Or maybe it's when the the that uh she finally realizes that she loves the country boy and not the city slicker boy, like in every single Hallmark movie that was ever made. Uh, you know, I I uh do that to my wife all the time. She she loves the Hallmark movies, and so she'll start watching it and I'll say, here's what's gonna happen. It irritates her to death, uh, but she uh, you know, uh those those could all could be in your mind perspectives uh or things you think of when you hear the word love. You know, I think lots lots of times, I don't think, I know lots of times love has been watered down to almost a void of significance when we talk about things like I love spaghetti or I love my car or I love that pair of shoes or or maybe I love my dog. Well, maybe that works, dog work work with the rest of them. Yeah, all those are things are things that uh that term is used with in in regard with uh or uh thinking of. But uh what's the context here? Because we're gonna look, we're in First Thessalonians. You want to go there with me? We we've been uh we're in chapter one, and we're doing a short series, which we'll actually finish this morning. Uh, and uh we've been looking at verses one through three. Paul's written this letter to the Christians in Thessalonica, and it's uh it's an interesting uh letter as we've talked about it, because uh if we're just a reminder, it's one maybe the only letter in in the New Testament that Paul writes to one of the churches that isn't written from the standpoint of I gotta handle a problem, I gotta deal with a situation. Uh this church is just doing well, they're doing so well. And and so he's just he's writing there, uh complimenting them, encouraged by them because of the of the way they're handling things and the way they're functioning as as a church. And so one that's one of the reasons I was drawn to it, uh just uh and and as we get down to chapter three, which or verse three, which is what we've been looking at the last few weeks. We we have this uh, you know, I shared with you before when I went to uh Bible college, we had a class called homiletics, which is on preaching, and and they taught us that every message was supposed to have three points. A good message has three points. Well, I kind of gave up on that a long time ago. But every once in a while you run across a verse like this, and man, it's laid out the three points for you. And and uh so it's it's a really interesting verse because I think we can look at verse three and say, you if you want to know uh how to define uh a really healthy church, they're they're uh found in in verse three. And so we've been working our way down through verse three. Uh last week we talked about uh where Paul says, your work, he he commends them on their work that has been produced by faith. Uh and in fact, let me read the verse three, the whole verse to begin with. Paul writes, We continually remember before our God and Father, your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. And then last week we dug into the phrase, your work produced by faith. Uh and I share with you as as I look into that verse and what was involved here, that when we the word work uh really was uh more uh maybe a better translation or a more enlightening translation of what's going on there would be your vocation. Uh so he's saying to this church, uh or it could also be translated uh your calling. And he's saying, you know, uh what as he has watched this church, uh he sees that they have a sense of calling from God to do something in particular. Uh and he doesn't tell us what it is, he just said, uh, I I know I've watched you, and I know that uh you plugged into something that you sense that God has called you to do as a church. Uh and and and what has encouraged Paul and and really charged him up about the church is that he knows for them to accomplish it took a lot of faith. It wasn't something that uh they could they had this sense of, oh yeah, that's no swell. We can handle that, God. Uh that whatever it was that uh they sensed the calling from God to do uh was a real challenge. And yet they took it on. Uh they they trusted God and uh and and probably stepped forward maybe in some fear and trembling, but but they obeyed and they did it, and and uh they they trusted God to work through them. And I talked about the fact that uh not only does that does God do that through churches, I think, and and and uh I think often, and we talked a little bit last Sunday about a couple of churches that are very that uh are very popular for uh things that God, it's very obvious God has called them to do, uh, and and God has used them in a mighty way. And and uh and and I, you know, so uh and even in our community, I think that you know we have churches that uh you know God uses in in uh different ways and uh to to uh really work for him. Uh but I also talked about the fact that I think that it's true of us as an individual too. Uh you and I need to be uh open to maybe God moving on your hearts that there's something that he wants you to do for him. And it's a little scary, but it's there, and you can't can't shake it. And it just it just keeps coming to mind that and and so uh God may be saying, Hey, trust me, step out. And and uh in my own ministry, the reason I'm in the ministry I'm in is because the summer after my freshman year, as I'm working for this Christian camp, God God impressed on my heart what he wanted me to do, and I was scared to death of it. Uh, and uh still have days where I'm saying, oh boy God, I don't know. But uh uh but he's proven faithful. And so so be open to that. And this church uh not only was open to to have a sense of God's calling as a church, uh, but they trusted God. And and that's one of the things that Paul is commending them and bragging about this church that they that they've done that, they've been open to that and they're and stepped forward uh and and and done what they sense God has called them to do, uh, even though it's a little bit that they felt over their head to do it. So then he moves on and he talks, and this is where the the love comes into play. He goes on and he says, and and your labor prompted by love. And there's the word love, as I said. Uh and he ties together, there's two interesting thing I things about this is uh he ties together labor and love. Uh but my question is first of all, well, what does labor mean? What's really interesting because you look right before that, and he talks about this work. And when I hear work and labor, they kind of sound like the same to me, you know, and and so obviously uh they aren't, or else Paul wouldn't have put them together in the sentence. And and like I said, talked about last week, the they're trying to indicate in the English translation that they're two different words, uh, but we don't often pick up on the nuances that uh uh are lost sometimes in the translation from Greek to English. And and so I had to look into okay, what's going on here? Obviously, work and labor are just something different, and I talked a little bit we talked about work uh being uh more recalling a vocation. Uh so what's love mean here? Uh uh how how what's involved in mind and why does Paul use this work and why does he tie it together uh with love that it's been prompted by by love? Uh what's going on here? Uh that that's our question. Uh well uh it's it's interesting that uh as I looked into it, uh the the Greek word uh involves grief. In fact, uh you you if you ever and we see it I think uh more nowadays than maybe in uh decades past, but uh if you uh you watch the news sometime and there's been some kind of a tragedy in the Middle East, uh, and unfortunately we see it more than we would want to. But if you ever watch, especially if it involves death, uh when when they grieve, uh maybe if they're they're pulling bodies sometimes out of rubble that from a natural disaster or or uh military uh disaster, and and uh or you've seen one of their funerals as they walk down the streets with the casket, and and you watch them grieve, and and then here and they'll do this. They're beating their chests and they're wailing. It's just their grief is is so so loud and out there, and they're just beating their chest. And that's actually what this word means. It's referring to a grief of just beating your chest in grief. Uh and so he's talking to this church and he's saying, even that they they are experiencing as a church that kind of grief, and and uh as they're walking through that grief, even though they are going through that grief, because of their love, they continue on. And you're thinking, wow, you know, what on earth is Paul referring to? Well, it's interesting. We were we spent some time uh right before we got into this study here, uh, looking at that first church, the first church that began in Acts chapter one and two and three. We walked through those those chapters. Uh we didn't get over to uh chapter 17. Uh, and if we went as far as 17, we'd find out that on one of Paul's missionary journeys, on one, I think it was his third missionary journey, is the one that he and Silas went to Thessalonica. Uh and and that's the record of when they went into Thessalonica and began to preach the gospel, and uh people began came to Christ. Uh it was it was pretty exciting. A lot, a lot of individuals came to Christ. Uh uh, and it was it was uh just seeing what the gospel was doing was amazing, but it didn't take long before there was opposition. Uh, and and uh opposition that was uh hard opposition. In fact, I want to read you, I'm you don't need to go there. If you could check it out, you went to later, Acts 17. Let me just read you a little bit of what the scriptures record, and this is early on. When Paul rewrites this later on, the letter in Thessalonica, the Thessalonians, it has increased uh quite a bit. The time has passed and and it's gotten uh much harder, more much more dangerous. Uh but this is the beginning, and even in the beginning it was getting rough. So I'm just gonna read, I'm reading actually from the message, the the modern translation, and uh so listen for a moment. So uh some some of them are won over and joined ranks with Paul and Silas. Among them a great many God-fearing Greeks and a considerable number of women from Arocracy, you know what I'm trying to say. But the hard-lined Jews became furious over the con over the conversions, mad with jealousy. They rounded up a bunch of brawlers off the streets and soon had an ugly mob terror terrorizing the city as they hunted down Paul and Silas. They broke into Jason's house. Now, Jason, uh, in the context, uh, Jason had invited Paul and Silas into his home. They had Bible studies in Jason's home, and so so the these uh these very uh uh militant religious people knew that that uh Paul had Silas had been to Jason's house, so they took this these brawlers, these angry people, this crowd that had gathered, they went to Jason's house because they thought maybe they'd catch Paul and Silas there, and they broke into the house. They didn't knock on the door, they broke into the house. Uh when they couldn't find them, they collared Jason and his friends instead and dragged them in before the city fathers, yelling hysterically, these people are out to destroy the world. And now they've shown up on our doorstep, attacking everything we hold dear. And Jason is hiding them, these traitors and turncodes who say Jesus is king and Caesar is nothing. That's a lie. They never, Paul Silas never said Caesar is nothing. They did say Jesus is king, and they were telling people about reminding them of what Jesus had done and that he had rose from the dead and inviting them to become part of the of follow, become, accept the uh the opportunity to be forgiven because of what Jesus did on the cross. All that was true, but uh they did they did nothing against Caesar, but they knew that would rile things up and make it sound, make it more dangerous. Uh uh verse 8, the city fathers and the crowd of people who were totally alarmed by what they heard. They made Jason and his friends post heavy bail, let them go while they investigated the charges. That night, under the cover of darkness, it got so bad. Their friends got Paul and Silas out of town as fast as they could. So it was pretty intense, even way back then. It's it's uh incrementally worse now. Uh they've had family members die, and and businesses uh uh uh have been shut down because they were owned by by Christians, by individuals, and and families have been separated. So so they they're very familiar with grief. And and Paul's commending them because he's saying, and even in the midst of that grief, because of your love for God, you continued on. You continued to serve him, you continue to share, share the good news. In fact, uh back to 1 Thessalonians, you we won't spend a lot of time there, but over in chapter 2, uh he writes, for you brothers and sisters became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. That's kind of stuff that's they're walking through. And and Paul has heard this, and he's writing to them and commending them for, even in the midst of their grief, continuing on, continuing to serve God and love God and and do what's right. You know, it's interesting. Uh I uh, you know, we the looked back this past week on uh the uh year out from from uh Charlie Kirk's activism. And you know, no, I didn't follow him early on in uh his movement. Uh and and in the early days it was mostly political. Uh it was it was interesting. There wasn't people were not really uh so much offended by his early uh movement. He would, you know, go in those colleges and put a table up, put a little a question kind of on a sign saying, This is what I believe, changed my mind, and it's kind of entertaining, and then they video it, and and uh, but the last couple years is when uh there was a turn in what he was doing. And and God had obviously done a work in his heart, and and so things he he turned more, he was more concerned about people's spiritual well-being than he was about where they stood political, politically uh on those subjects. And so he started he started really pointing towards Christ. Uh and and that's when the hatred moved in. That's when they couldn't stand to hear what he had to say uh to the point where he eventually his life was taken, I believe, because of that, because our enemy could not allow him to go on. Uh well that's what happens, and and honestly, and I think we'll see it in the next uh phrase as well. We need to be prepared as Christians that uh we we are very probably uh moving into those kind of times. And and so we look at the church in Thessalon uh Linica and say, Am I ready for that? Can can I be that kind of a follower, Jesus? Uh where even if I have to go through some hard things, hard things to the point of grieving, my love for Jesus and my desire to see others come to a relationship with him will overweigh that, and I will continue on. And that's what he's encouraged and commending these people for. Uh and then he goes on to this last uh thing that he really admires about this church, and he says, I I admire you because of your endurance, inspired by hope. Now, all that we've talked about so far, the the uh the the work and uh the labor and the grief that was involved, and the even the work and and how it would require great faith on their part to to as they sense what God wanted them to do, but recognize it was bigger than they are, all those things we run into this last say phrase, and he says, and your endurance, and we're saying, yeah, that makes sense. All those those things require endurance. Uh uh this idea, this ability to go on, to to to to keep moving forward. That that kind of that kind of makes sense here. But but there's more going on here than just uh toughing it out. That's my why we might we might say we know we think we hear the word endurance and we think, well, yeah, you know, sometimes some things just call for us to tough it out, you know. Uh just get, you know, it's not gonna be easy, but you do it. You do it, and and uh, you know, just because it's the right thing to do. Uh but there's more involved in here. It's not just their endurance that he uh is admiring. Uh he says it's their endurance that's inspired by hope. Uh so we have to ask ourselves, what is this hope? What what is what is going on? Uh if you jump down to the end of the chapter, uh you you'll read this. They tell they tell how you turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, and then get this last phrase, who rescues us from the coming wrath. What's the coming wrath? Uh well, actually, and we're not going on right now, maybe later we'll come back to this, but as we go on into this letter, Paul goes in detail about this coming wrath. He talks about uh what's about to the things that are coming up, and uh it ties in very almost really well with what John writes in the book of Revelation about uh this uh time that's coming in in the days ahead when uh there will be what's called the day of God's wrath or wrath, it's and that pre-tribulation period that's gonna last seven years, from what I see in scripture. And it's gonna be a horrific time uh that's gonna be very, very difficult and talk about grief. There's gonna be a lot of grieving, and uh uh and so so Paul says, but for these folks, uh they're they're holding on to the fact that they're gonna be rescued from that. And that's causing them to have this great hope. And you know, uh, if you're following things at all, if you've read Revelation uh or any of the passages, including the book of First Thessalonians, it starts talking about what is going to be happening in the days ahead, you're you're starting to say, wait, this sounds a lot like what we're beginning to see. If you watch the news this week and and you watched uh those events uh that took place in uh where in the United Nations, where uh the prime minister of Israel got up to speak, and 70% of the representatives of the rest of the world got up and walked out. One of the things the scripture says that is going to be a sign that we're that we're getting near that time is gonna be a worldwide opposition to the Jews. And we're seeing that. Uh you know, and and it's and it's amazing. It's like it doesn't make sense. You know, you look at the tragic events of uh that October, and you're saying, wait a minute, that happened to them. Why is everybody so mad at them? It doesn't make sense. But it's exactly falling into what the prophecy says is going to happen. In fact, to the point where it describes that there will be an event in the future at the end of the tribulation where the whole world, the armies of the world, are going to come together and they're going to surround Jerusalem and they're going to get ready to destroy Jerusalem, which is what to you know, wipe them off the face of the earth, push them into the sea, and they're ready to do that. But what's really going on, what they don't realize is it is Satan who knows prophecy as well, and he's gathered those armies because he knows it's time for Jesus to return. And so he's gathered them to do that battle, although it will be a short battle. But that's all part of prophecy. And and uh and so it's going to lead up to that, we're gonna see more and more of a not just anti-Israel, anti-Jew perspective, but an but a Christian, anti-Christian, and we're seeing that as well, just simply be because you have this uh trust in Jesus and you love Jesus. And in fact, you want the others to know him because you know what he his heart for them and and to share those good things, and and the world's gonna going to hate you. And that's what they were experiencing. And it's like what on earth can carry you through something that hard. Well, hope. Hope. Because you and I know how it ends. And yeah, we know it's gonna get tough, but uh for one thing, uh, and I think that's the indication of uh they're gonna be rescued from the coming wrath, uh, I see what I see in scripture is we who are believers now, we're we're not gonna be part of that, even the tribulation. We're gonna be rescued, we're gonna be caught up in the heavens, we'll meet Jesus there, and so we won't even be a part of that. Uh, but in the meantime, we have a responsibility. Uh even as this hatred grows and the heart of things grow, and even in those times when God calls us to do things that we feel are beyond our capability, and we have to just trust Him that He will give us what we need when we need it. And so the question, I think, uh, as we end chap verse three here is the question for you and for me is, you know, are we ready? Uh are we ready to continue the work produced by faith of telling others about Jesus? Even though it's scary, and even though they don't always want to hear it, and even though uh there will be stronger and stronger anti-senti towards us, but but we trust God and we know why why we're here and what we're supposed to be doing. And so am I ready to have enough faith in Jesus to say, I with your strength, Lord, I can do this? Am I ready to continue to labor in love, even in the midst of some hard times, where you know, we sometimes ask that question. I mean, that's not wrong to ask the question, but God. Why is this happening? Why is this hard? But God, I trust you, and I love you, and so I will continue to serve you, even when it hurts. Am I ready to do that? Are you ready to do that? Are you ready to do those things? And and not out of an attitude of, oh, poor me. Are you ready to do those things because you know how the story ends? And I know how the story ends. And the ending for you as a believer is so worth anything that you're gonna go through, or I'm gonna go through in the meantime. And so he commends them because all these things that are happening to them, they've remained faithful, they've continued to serve him, uh, even though it's in the midst of grief at times, all because they know their Lord, and their hope remains strong. It's gonna be worth every twist, every turn, every up and down, every bump, every jerk, it's all going to be worth it when someday soon. We stand before our Heavenly Father. Well done. And faithful servant. That's right. Thanks for allowing us the privilege of looking into this church and hearing the remarkable things that they were accomplishing on your behalf. And even though we're not given the details, we're given enough information to know that it wasn't an easy road for them. Uh they were dealing with very good difficult times and they were dealing with hardships, uh, they were dealing with attitudes that uh towards them because of their faith and and and their belief in you that was it was costing them. And it wasn't just about financial things, it was costing them uh uh uh tremendous hardship, even loss of loved ones. And in the midst of all of this, they remain faithful, uh they keep serving you, uh they love you and they want to please you, and all of this continue, they continue on because they are so convinced of your promises that nothing can interfere with that hope. And so they carry on, Lord. I I want first of all, I want uh as an individual to be that kind of follower. And and Lord, I pray the same for everyone in this room that that's our heart, Lord. That's we want you to be pleased with who we are, and and we're not asking it to always be easy. We just trust your plan. And whatever your plan is, Lord, we're gonna remain faithful. And we recognize we need your help because lots of things are bigger than us, but but we know that you're gonna come through. And and Lord, and then the big picture for us is uh regardless of what we might be walking through now or in the days ahead, we know how the story ends. And Lord, I want to be one of those that gets to hear those words from your mouth, as I'm sure everyone else does in this room. So thank you for this church and allow us to get some encouragement from them and just the kind of people they were, and we want to be that kind of people too, and we want to be that kind of church. So, with that in mind, Lord, now we recognize that we are walking out into a world that is lost and dark and needs so much to hear about our Lord, but not just to hear about Him, to have a relationship with Him. So we'll look for opportunities, and when we have them, Lord, help us to step forward and take advantage of those chances to point people to Jesus. Lord, thank you for these things in this time together. We pray these things in your son's name. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 30:31

One last course together.