Glory and Joy

1 Thessalonians 2:1-20

This is the second in our new series of messages on the short books of 1 & 2 Thessalonians. John set the stage for us last Sunday with the first chapter of the first letter. The Apostle Paul had visited Thessalonica for the first time during his second missionary journey, planted a church there, and now a short time later was writing back to the believers there to encourage them in their faith. Paul stayed on the move, with a calling and passion to reach out to areas that had never heard the gospel. He did also try to revisit areas to build up and support established churches, as he had done earlier on this journey at several places in what is now Turkey. But he worked as part of a large, organic team where others would have the responsibility for teaching and pastoring these churches in the long term. Paul planted, others watered, and God gave the growth. Paul wanted to keep planting in new areas. His heart was on what can be called the frontiers of mission: the people who had never had the opportunity to hear about what Jesus had done for them.

Often Paul was forced to move on. He would have a window of opportunity to witness in a certain place. He would proclaim the gospel boldly, and the Holy Spirit would bring it to life in some of his hearers. But his message was unacceptable and even threatening to many Jews and Gentiles alike. He would be accused of disturbing the peace or some other offense, authorities and/or crowds would be stirred up against him, and he would need to leave – with or without getting beaten and thrown in prison first.

This is what had happened in the city of Philippi, right before Thessalonica. To back up just a little in the story, you may recall how Paul had had a dream when he was Troas, on the other side of Aegean Sea, of a Macedonian man begging him to “come over and help us.” Paul and his companions had been steered away from certain areas, by the Holy Spirit, it says, but now here was a clear call toward a completely new area in what is now Greece. Philippi was the first city that they focused on. Lydia is recorded in Acts 16 as the first person to respond to Paul’s message there, and she and her household became the first fellowship of believers. However, because Paul cast a demon out of a fortunetelling slave, he and Silas were accused of violating local customs, arrested, beaten, and thrown in prison. But then there was the earthquake, sent by God to deliver them from the prison, which also led to the salvation of the jailer and his whole household. After all this excitement, the local magistrates, essentially the rulers of the city, ended up requesting Paul and Silas to leave and even came to escort them out of the prison.

So Paul and his companions moved on to the next major city of Thessalonica. Here it was that some Jews got jealous and made them move on, but not before a number of Jews came to accept Jesus as the Messiah, along with “a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women,” it says in Acts 17:4. These are the believers that Paul is now writing back to in this letter. Let’s turn to our passage for today, chapter 2 of 1 Thessalonians.

You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition.—I Thessalonians 2:1-2

The visit definitely had results. The visible results, of course, were that a church had been planted and Paul and Silas had been forced to leave the city. However, Paul is more likely referring to the intangible growth of faith in the midst of suffering, which became an example for believers everywhere, as we read in Chapter 1. The gospel had come not only with words but with power. Lives were changed, and Satan had been put on notice in the spiritual realm. The strong opposition mentioned here has spiritual foundations.

Paul commends the Thessalonian believers for their faith and how far they have come with the Lord, but he still feels the need to explain and justify his ministry among them:

For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. –I Thessalonians 2:3-8

How many of you have (or had) a mother who worried about you? That’s just what mothers do, isn’t it? Paul worried about his spiritual children in the same way. We see it all over his letters. In the next chapter we will read about how he sent Timothy to see how the Thessalonian church was doing. Paul was concerned about all the trials that they were undergoing. It says that he just couldn’t stand it anymore, he had to find out if they were continuing strong in their faith. He was afraid that Satan might have tempted them, bringing all Paul’s work to nothing.

Paul also worried that when he was away, people would begin to question his integrity or competence as a leader. In several of his letters he defends his ministry as he does here, reminding believers of what he was like when he was with them, encouraging them to think the best of his motives and his exhortation for their benefit. Perhaps Paul sensed that Satan was planting or could plant lies in the minds of the Thessalonians, such as: Is this really true? Does Paul have some hidden agenda here? What is he trying to get out of this personally? Is he just trying to build up his own record or reputation?

Paul refutes those lies here. He appeals to his calling from God to preach the gospel. God will be the one to judge his performance. He is not looking for praise from people, nor is he one to throw his weight around and insist on his own way. “We were like young children among you,” he says. He seems to be referring to children who know their place, who are willing to submit to authority, and who don’t put on airs. However, at the same time he cared for this little flock in the same way that a nursing mother would care for her children, giving extra attention to the youngest who needs to be comforted and fed frequently as well as not neglecting the older ones who need a spot in her lap once in a while, besides being guided and corrected and listened to and dusted off and the many, many other things that kids need. Good mothers are available 24/7 for their kids.

Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.—I Thessalonians 2:8-12

Because we loved you so much. The Greek here refers to an earnest desire. This was at the core of Paul’s ministry, the thing that got him out of bed in the morning. In the same way that God so loved the world that he sent Jesus, Paul so loved people that he dedicated his life to bring the salvation of Jesus to them. He shared not only the gospel but his own life. This word for life is very intimate; it can mean breath or heart or soul. Being a witness for Jesus is both a message and a lifestyle. It means being open and transparent, including others in what we are doing, being generous and hospitable. When I travel I am so blessed to stay with people in their homes in various places. They share their lives with me. I get to see how they live and relate and work. I see evidence of the love of Jesus in their hearts. It is such a powerful thing when you can share your life with someone else. What they see can greatly reinforce what they hear you say. I think I have quoted this before, but it is a saying that comes to my mind frequently (attributed to Teddy Roosevelt, I believe): “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Part of Paul’s witness is that he was not a burden to anyone. It says here that he worked night and day to support himself so that the Thessalonians would not feel obligated to support him. He would have been justified in accepting support; in 1 Timothy he asserts that the worker deserves his wages. However, he wants to avoid any accusation that he is working for his own benefit. One of the unfortunate things that I have seen in Nepal is the inclination of Christians to want to become pastors because the assumption is then that someone else will support them, preferably with foreign funding. I so appreciate the approach of some friends in India who have started a training program for pastors and evangelists that gives them practical skills like tailoring or motorcycle repair so that they can support themselves as much as necessary. Paul was the father of all tent-making ministers.

Paul always wanted to be a good example for others to follow. Not only was he like a mother in his loving care of the believers, he was also like a father in encouraging, comforting, and exhorting them, urging them to live lives that glorified God. In my experience, I’ve seen that it’s often mothers who tend to accept us the way we are, and we feel secure in that, while fathers are the ones to push us to move beyond where we are now, and we feel challenged and encouraged by that. We need both kinds of support in our lives, don’t we? And God combines both. He accepts us and loves us just as we are, but he is never content to allow us to remain as we are. He desires that we walk more and more closely with him, pressing on in our calling.

In the next section, Paul moves on from talking about his own ministry to once again focusing on the response of the Thessalonians.

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. 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. They displease God and are hostile to everyone in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.—I Thessalonians 2”13-16

The Thessalonian believers had received Jesus as the Living Word, who went to work in them, growing faith, giving hope, cleansing sin, multiplying love, and encouraging service. Even today, the gospel message is just words until the Holy Spirit brings it to life in someone’s heart and touches them on a spiritual level. The Thessalonian church had become just like the original fellowships in Judea, not only in their passion to follow Jesus faithfully, but in the response they received from those in their community who were opposing them. Persecution was a reality for Christians everywhere at this time in history. The church was birthed in suffering. We can’t relate to this in quite the same way in America today. We may certainly suffer opposition and ridicule if we are serious about our faith, but we do not face death for following Jesus. I have been so blessed to have met believers who do have to count the cost in that way, living each day with the possibility that they will be betrayed and lose their lives. But Jesus is like the “pearl of great price” that they give up everything else to own. They are not controlled by fear; they are controlled by faith. I had one man tell me that he was ready to die for Jesus if necessary, because every day he was ready to go to be with Him.

Paul here decries the Jews who oppose his ministry to the Gentiles. Not only do they reject Jesus and drive out his followers, they try to keep them from spreading the gospel message to the Gentile world. They displease God and are hostile to everyone in this effort, it says. One might wonder why the Jews would even care what religion the Gentiles decided to follow. But perhaps their outrage was due to Christianity being perceived as a sect of Judaism at this time. The Jews may not have wanted their own image to be tainted by association with a movement so controversial and confrontational. When Paul says “the wrath of God has come upon them at last” he may be thinking of the deteriorating relationship between the Jews and the Romans, which would culminate in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way. For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.—I Thessalonians 2:17-20

Once again we see Paul’s passionate love for these people. They are never far from his thoughts. His motherly and fatherly concern gives him an intense longing to be reunited with them after this time of separation. As Lisa and I contemplate being empty-nesters, beginning later this month, we also expect to be longing to know how our kids are doing and to spend time with them in the future. We want our kids to be independent, but we want to maintain the close family ties that we have. In the same way, Paul wanted his churches to be able to function well without him, but he wanted to stay well connected with them, spiritually and emotionally.

Paul does not want the Thessalonians to think that because he has not come to see them he does not care about them. His attempts to come to them have been blocked by Satan, as part of the spiritual battle going on behind the scenes as the kingdom of light confronts the kingdom of darkness. We can only guess at what form these barriers have taken. Perhaps Paul has been physically threatened by people opposing him. Perhaps the spiritual needs of the people he was currently with were compelling enough that he felt he could not leave them. Have you ever sensed that urgent tasks have crowded out ones that should have been more important to you? I believe that is a very common deception that Satan uses to try to distract people from God’s purposes: using the tyranny of the urgent to prevent us getting to the really important matters. How many times have I started out my day with a couple of really important, long-range projects that I want to work on, but then I get to the end of the day without having touched them because of all the little things that popped up over the course of the day. Has that ever happened to you? I don’t know if Paul was ever similarly distracted, but it is an easy pit to fall into.

What is your hope and joy and crown? Paul wanted his legacy to be people: godly, growing believers in Jesus. What would continue on after he was gone? It would be those who would carry on in the faith, passing it on to successive generations. Too many people in the world are investing in things that will not last: wealth, possessions, all the trappings of worldly success. Even the institutions we help create are not eternal. Someday they will all pass away. We need to build into people: our kids, other people’s kids, every person that God brings across our path – we should make the most of opportunities to reach out to them with God’s love and truth. It is a real joy to see other people grow in faith. That is our most important legacy and all we will be able to glory in in the presence of Jesus when he comes.

I would also like to highlight how Paul refers to the Thessalonian believers as his crown, because crowns are about honor, and our last series was about honor and shame. I can remember as a kid wrestling with the concept of rewards in heaven and the way in which some people think of their heavenly crown as proportionate reward for the good they were able to do on earth. Will some people in heaven have big crowns with lots of jewels because of all they were able to “accomplish” for God during their lives on earth? The image just didn’t sit right with me.

Different types of crowns are certainly mentioned in the New Testament. Some theologians have identified five crowns that will be awarded to believers: the imperishable (or incorruptible) crown, the crown of rejoicing, the crown of righteousness, the crown of glory, and the crown of life. Others assert that these are all aspects of the same reward, namely, eternal life. We don’t have time to look at all the verses that talk about crowns. It is hard to draw firm conclusions anyway. There is so much about heaven that we cannot yet understand. However, I am convinced that we do not “earn” whatever crown we will receive in heaven. It is ridiculous to think that we deserve something from God – apart from being sent to hell.

It may be useful to think of a crown as symbolic of honor. Crowning a king or a victor bestows honor on him. If God gives us a crown, he is allowing us to share in his own supreme honor. All glory and honor still belong to him. That is why our completely appropriate response will be to join the 24 elders in Revelation 4 in giving the honor back to him:

...the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”—Revelation 4:10-11

Whatever crown we have we will lay before the throne of the Lamb. On that day Paul will rejoice and glory in the presence of the Thessalonian believers. Who will you glory in in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes?

I would like to close with a video that came through my inbox this past week as I was thinking about this message. I realized that it relates to the vision that Paul had to be a witness on the frontiers. He kept pressing on to places where the gospel have never been proclaimed. When he arrived in Thessalonica it was the first opportunity for the people there to hear the good news of Jesus. The frontiers for Paul were still along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Where are the frontiers for us? Where should we be investing our lives and resources? https://vimeo.com/228755241