MORNING MESSAGE: John Cline
1st Thessalonians 2 and 3
A word about last Sunday. As you remember, I was not in a good way. But I left here, ate lunch with our two grandsons who we were babysitting for 9 days, took them ice skating, and then, with them, watched my very favourite childhood movie, “Mary Poppins”. That was what I needed! But, I was angry last week not just because a Christian speaker was shot in the neck and killed instantly in broad daylight – in front of his wife and two young children – and just after he had given a 20-minute sermon about the truth of God’s Word and the wisdom of committing one’s life to following Jesus, and then, after inviting those who disagreed with him to ask him questions, and on the second question, was shot and killed, but because I was so disturbed that over 62,000 people celebrated his murder on social media. My anger was over what has happened to our society that such vile reactions to a murder could be judged to be fine. The specific issue I addressed last Sunday was the willingness of Christians – particularly here in Canada and I fall into this group – to embrace politeness and to fear discussing societal issues instead of defending, even in a level-headed objective manner, the truths of God’s Word. I really do believe that, as a pastor, I have some insights to share on moral and ethical issues and that I should be allowed to speak out. I don’t believe that pastors should tell their congregants how to vote politically (and, if you thought I was doing so last Sunday, well, I encourage you to either read the transcript of my remarks or go back and listen on youtube to what I actually said). But when a horrible thing such as murder happens and people celebrate it, and we Christians are silent, well, pastors have a duty to speak up. When pastors are gripped by the so-called “fear of man” that Jesus spoke about rather than the “fear of God”, that is a horrible indictment. Apologist Alisa Childers, whom I have quoted before from this pulpit, writes, “Pastors, I beg you. Preach the Word of God boldly and with clarity. Quit pandering to culture. Be free of the fear of man. Be filled with the fear of God. Say what needs to be said.” And, then she concludes, “Get fired if you must.” Strong words, indeed.
I know that many of you want me to be the kind of pastor who will speak up, but I also know that others of you don’t want me to. You should know that I have lost family members and friends over my willingness to proclaim God’s Word, but I always try to share God’s Word respectfully and thoughtfully. But you should also know, as I told you last Sunday, that there are people who not only hate me but hate you, as well, simply because you are part of a Baptist Church, as was evidenced when a man picketed our church on the sidewalk outside our building and called all of us – you, and you, and you, and me, every one of us – “hateful bigots” simply because we are Baptists. Friends, another pastor was shot and killed this past week for speaking God’s truth from the Bible, this time in San Diego. That is why we now have a security detail here in our church during our worship services. I am thankful for those who have taken up the cause of ensuring security here because they are protecting both me and you. I must say that if there was any good that came out of last week’s assassination, it is that a tipping word seems to have been reached against vile speech being tolerated. For example, this week, “influencer” and streamer “Destiny” has had his channel demonetized by Disney, the parent company who owns that channel – he can no longer make money from his broadcasts – after he called for further murders of Christians. In contrast, many who opposed Charlie Kirk, such as Van Jones on CNN, have spoken so highly of him following his passing. We need to pay attention to that. It seems ironic to me that so many Christians who want pastors to be silent on social issues fondly regard the Old Testament prophets without considering that they were hated by the very people they spoke God’s Word to. The only exception to that would have been Daniel. But, as for the other prophets, their people wanted them killed and those prophets knew it, but they loved their people – and, God – so much that they were willing to speak God’s truth, even if it was not what the people wanted to hear. Parents and grandparents who truly love their kids and grandchildren, prove their love by speaking up if their kids or grandchildren are doing things that will hurt them or others. Similarly, pastors must speak up when their people’s beliefs are doing harm. We know from the Bible – in Jude, in 1st Timothy, in Leviticus, etc. – that when a person is in pastoral ministry, in the priestly class, different rules, different expectations, and different standards apply to them than to everyone else. If one is going to be speaking for the holy, that person will be held by God to a higher standard. That is a fact that guides pastors. If a person is going to be in the administration of teaching truth but will not teach God’s truth, well, to be frank, that person should step away from the role of being a church leader, as we earlier heard Alisa Childers suggest.
There is an oft-told story about a small factory which was shut down because its most important piece of machinery had stopped working. The company mechanic couldn’t get it running, so they called in an expert. The man looked over the machine for a few minutes. He then picked up his hammer and gently tapped it. Amazingly, it started running again. He submitted a bill for $1,500 and the owner hit the roof! He yelled at the mechanic over the noise of the machine: “That took you less than five minutes! I demand an itemized bill!” The expert sat down and scribbled out the following charges: “For tapping the machine – $10.00. For knowing where to tap – $1,490.00.” Pastors are supposed to know where to “tap” to fix things that are broken. The tapping may be unpleasant – but refusing to tap would be worse.
So, turning now to the letters of the apostle Paul through which we are currently preaching: when we go through chapters 4 and 5 of 1st Thessalonians these next couple of Sundays, and then on to the 3 chapters of 2nd Thessalonians, we will read Paul addressing very important and complicated doctrinal issues. However, in today’s passage, the focus isn’t on doctrine but on interpersonal relationships, just as it has been these past two Sundays. I should say that when I first became a Christian at age 19, I was surprised to learn that Paul’s “letters” were actually letters; letters written to individuals and to churches located in cities such as Rome, Ephesus, Corinth, and Thessalonica. They weren’t treatises or books, but letters filled with concern and love for individuals and churches he had come to know. Paul wrote 13 such letters which are preserved in the New Testament. The chapters in his 1st Letter to the Thessalonians that we will read through today contain some of the warmest sections in any of Paul’s letters. Paul had longed to stay with the Thessalonians, with those new Christians there – he had only known them a few months but his time with them was so full and rich – but he was chased out of Thessalonica and forced to flee for his life by the religious leaders of the Jewish synagogue there who stridently opposed his message. Those religious leaders had been used by Satan to block Paul and his message. Several months later, then, having settled in for what turned out to be an 18-month stay in the city of Corinth in southwest Greece, Paul wrote these two letters we are now preaching our way through.
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. (1 Thessalonians 2:17-20)
Paul had been in Thessalonica for only a few weeks at the time of being forced to flee. But, scholars speculate, from studying the text of his letters, that, after he had left Thessalonica, some detractors had entered into the church family there and started saying false things about Paul; that he was a fake and a fraud, and that he was indifferent to the personal concerns and needs of the Thessalonians, which they claimed, was apparent in that Paul hadn’t returned to Thessalonica. Again, scholars, knowing the laws of the land back then, contend that Paul couldn’t have returned to Thessalonica, for under the terms of the surety that Jason, a fellow Christian, had been forced to agree to, if Paul were to return, it would be at the peril of Jason’s life. Paul countered those false claims about him by reminding the Christians that during his ministry among them, he was not selfish or self-aggrandizing but sacrificial, caring, and loving. Whoever it was that had made those false claims about him was lying. As Paul stated, the servant of the Lord leading a church must be characterized as one who nurtures and cares for the people, just as a “nursing mother” and a caring “father” would, qualities he carried. Again, pastors in churches today should be likewise, or they should get out of ministry! Paul wrote that he wanted to return to the Thessalonian church, but he was “blocked by Satan” from doing so. Martin Luther, in his hymn that we sang last Sunday, was accurate when he wrote, “For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe. His craft and power are great and armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal.” But God is greater than Satan and when Paul was forced to leave Thessalonica, it could be argued as many have that, though Satan had succeeded in blocking Paul’s return to Thessalonica, God countered by then victoriously sending Paul on to Berea, Athens, and then Corinth, thus taking the Gospel of Jesus in those places. God is greater than Satan!
One final note on the verses just read: Paul lived his life in the light of the expected return of Jesus. That was the chief motivator for Paul in how he lived. Do we live our lives in the light of Jesus’ possible return? I have met many Christians who have – or who do – but do you or I live in the light of Jesus’ return? Paul then explains what happened after it became apparent that he could not return to Thessalonica…
So, when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God’s service in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. For you know quite well that we are destined for them. In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know. For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter had tempted you and that our labors might have been in vain. (1st Thessalonians 3:1-5)
So, Paul sent Timothy back to the Thessalonians Christians to “establish” and “comfort” them, and to make sure that they had not been “unsettled” or “shaken”, by the persecution they had experienced. As it turned out, Timothy alleviated Paul’s fears.
But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you. Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. For now, we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith. (1 Thessalonians 3:6-10)
Timothy’s “good news” report thrilled Paul and emotionally stabilized him. He writes, “For now, we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord.” Similarly, when I see faithful and good things happening here, when I see you caring for one another, as well as for others, and loving God fully, it emotionally stabilizes me. Paul and every pastor since him are affected by what goes on in their congregations. Again, pastors carry a burden unique to our position; I boldly remind you. Paul, writing with Silas and Timothy, then closes with a benediction.
Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear
the way for us to come to you. May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. (11-13)
This is the calling and burden of a pastor: to care for God’s people, share with them God’s Word, pray with them and for them. Jesus, and Paul – and this is true throughout the entire Bible – instructed every Christian to pray, as we will read in a few weeks in 1st Thessalonians 5:17, where Paul says to “Pray continually”, “without ceasing”. God wants each of us to deepen spiritually. How does that happen? By believing that the Word of God holds truths that should be adhered to, by prayer, by persevering through trials and troubles, by believing that the coming back of Jesus is a practical reality, and by loving God and others in the way we should. As your pastor, my tapping on a problem that needs fixing will hopefully help in you doing that. Otherwise, your response to my preaching will simply you to be spiritually well.
In closing, I will quote pastor Ray Pritchard who put things this way: “Sooner than you think, you’ll be lying in a box six feet underground with grass growing over your head. And all the things of this life won’t matter at all. Someone else will have your money and your job. Your fame will fade; your glory will disappear and everything you owned will belong to others. And you yourself will eventually be forgotten except by those people who stumble on your gravestone a hundred years from now and say, ‘I wonder who this guy was?’” There have been too many deaths in my immediate family and church family this last while for me to ignore the reality that we are all going to die. 100% of us will die at some point but none of us knows when we will die. In the days, years or decades I have left, I will attempt to preach with clarity as to what God’s Word says and to live in the way God wants me to and I pray that I will do so in such a way that you will believe God is speaking through me and that you need to heed what is being said. Let’s pray.
