At the beginning of chapter 4, we’re right at the midway point of this book of 1 Thessalonians. Out of the 89 verses in the book, we’ll end with number 45 today, so just a hair over halfway.

If you remember the beginning of this book, Paul’s first words beside the greeting were these:

We always thank God for all of you, making mention of you constantly in our prayers.

1 Thessalonians 1:2

During these first three chapters of the book, Paul’s been doing some Holy-Spirit-inspired reminiscing about the time they spent together, and what’s happened in the 18 months or so that has passed since then, to Paul and his crew, and with the believers in Thessalonica.

Over these past three weeks, we’ve looked over Paul’s shoulder in these first three chapters, trying to glean from his description some insights into their approach to making disciples so effectively and doing it so quickly. In the first two weeks, we saw that they (a) shared the Good News, and (b) they shared their own lives.

That last part of that three-part mini-series on making disciples was last Sunday, which was only by video since we didn’t mean in person last week. If you were able to watch online, don’t worry, I’m not going to preach the message all over again this morning, because you know I went loooooong.

I promise I’m not going to do the same this morning, but let me just give the outline at least, so that those who weren’t able to worship online last Sunday still know where we were.

Not only did they share the Gospel, and share their lives, they also shared the responsibility for each other’s spiritual growth. We’ve seen how Paul, Timothy, and Silas cared deeply about these people on a personal level, and especially about their spiritual health. They weren’t content to just let them go. “They’re saved now, we did our job, they’ve got the Holy Spirit, they’ll figure it out.”

Nope, that’s not how any of this works. That’s not how it works with physical babies, is it? When we brought Addy home 3.5 years ago, we didn’t say, “There’s the bathroom, there’s the fridge. So glad you’re a part of the family now. Good luck.”

But isn’t that the Church’s basic attitude toward new believers so often? We praise God their saved, celebrate when they’re baptized, and then often that’s pretty much it when it comes to direct, one-on-one disciple making.

But that means we’ve only done half the job. We’ve baptized them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but that’s only half the command. We, each of us, all of us, have to take responsibility for teaching them to observe everything He has commanded us.

  1. We are each others’ family.
  2. We are each others’ keeper.
  3. We are each others’ glory and joy.

For who is our hope or joy or crown of boasting in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? Indeed you are our glory and joy!

1 Thessalonians 2:19–20

And continuing that same idea, look at the beginning of today’s reading, as Paul responds to the good news Timothy brought back about how the church in Thessaloniki was doing:

For now we live, if you stand firm in the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 3:8

That’s quite a statement, isn’t it? “Now we live.”

Makse me wonder if Paul was feeling the opposite the whole time Timothy was gone… “If they’ve all fallen away from the faith, I think it’ll kill me.” One translation (The Jerusalem Bible) actually translates it this way: “Now we can breath again.”

That’s the kind of concern for other people that it takes to make disciples effectively. We have to care that much.

The only way we will ever be effective in fulfilling the Great Commission is to go about the same way that Jesus did, the same way that the apostles did. Sharing the Good News, sharing our lives, and sharing the responsibility for our collective spiritual growth.

Now as we head toward the end of chapter 3, we’re also heading toward a turning point in the book. If you remember the first week we were in 1 Thessalonians, we talked about how thankful Paul was for them.

Paul’s getting ready to be done talking about what has already happened to talking about what going to happen in the future, and what needs to happen in the meantime.

He started this letter with how thankful to God he was for them, and look at what he says as he’s wrapping up this section:

How can we thank God for you in return for all the joy we experience before our God because of you, as we pray very earnestly night and day to see you face to face and to complete what is lacking in your faith?

1 Thessalonians 3:9–10

So he starts this section “we always thank God for you” and ends it with “How could we even thank Him enough for all this joy?”

And while we’re in the neighbor, can I just point out that it’s not an insult for Paul to say their faith is lacking something? Part of being a disciple of Jesus Christ should be the humility to know that you don’t know, that you need to be taught, and that you will never reach a point where that’s not true.

And then, rather than just talking about, Paul goes on to actually demonstrates the kind of prayer he’s talking about. By the way, be that kind of person. There is a huge difference between someone who says they’re going to pray for you, and someone who prays with you. If someone shares a need with you, why wait? Pray for it right then and there if possible.

He starts his prayer in verse 11:

Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you.

1 Thessalonians 3:11

1. Love More and More

And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflowwith love for one another and for everyone, just as we do for you.

1 Thessalonians 3:12

Valentine’s Day

Happy early Valentine’s Day to everyone. By the way fellas, that was your friendly reminder—tomorrow is Valentine’s Day!

If you’ve been married or been in a relationship for any amount of time, you know this is true: as much as this holiday would like to say it’s not true, we don’t come by love naturally, do we? Love is hard. Love takes a lot of work.

In humanity’s original state, made in the image of God, it wasn’t like this. There was perfect love, reflecting the love between the Father, Son, and Spirit.

But in the Fall, that perfect love was shattered into a million pieces. When God came to confront Adam and Eve, what was their first response? Hide from God. Love broken.

What was their second response? Blame each other. Love broken.

Apart from the work of the Spirit in our lives, we will not love like we should. We don’t drift into love, we have to work at it. And for followers of Christ, we have to pray for it, because it’s ultimately a work of the Holy Spirit inside of us.

Within the Family

This is where it all starts. How many loving, happy people do you know who hate their whole family, complain about them all the time? My guess would be 0.

This is where Paul’s heart went as he prayed for this fledgling church, because every church needs prayer in this area, don’t you think?

The very idea that love could increase means that we’re not up to full capacity yet! There’s still room for improvement in love.

Paul’s prayer is rooted in that reality of the Fall. And when we think about love within the family of God, we need to keep that reality in mind as well. We should never be surprised when Christians—ourselves included—are not loving. Why would we be? Have you been unloving since you were a Christian?

Outside the Family

Love starts with the church, but it never stays there. That’s not how God operates is it? Was He content to just keep the love between the Trinity and call it good? Obviously not, here we are!

God’s love is always moving outward, always inviting more people in. and moves outward from there.

2. Sin Less and Less

May he make your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Amen.

1 Thessalonians 3:13

I say “Sin less and less” a little tongue-in-cheek, because it fits with the other two points. And no doubt, it’s certainly the result of our hearts being blameless in holiness. But when we think about sinning less, we tend to think about outward actions, stuff that other people could see.

But God, God is the one who sees beyond what we can see. Our memory verse from two weeks ago said that very thing: “We speak, not to please people, but rather God, who examines our hearts.” And God is always, ALWAYS after our hearts.

The heart of the matter is always a matter of the heart.

Everything we do comes from the heart. “Out of the heart the mouth speaks.”

He’s not praying for their behavior modification. He’s praying for heart transformation. Not all at once, but little by little.

This verse could easily be the heading for the rest of the book. Everything else that we’re going to talk about in the second half of 1 Thessalonians falls into one of these two categories: the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints, or how to live as his saints—hearts blameless and holy—as we wait for Him to come.

This book is about to get extremely practical. Not that it hasn’t been up till now, at least I hope not, but the arguments have been more implicit. They’re about to get explicit… maybe especially next Sunday!

I’m just going to give you all the sermon topics for the rest of this series, ready?

  1. Sex
  2. Work ethic
  3. Death, resurrection, and grief
  4. The Second Coming
    • that might take two weeks!
  5. How we should act in the meantime
  6. How we should treat our spiritual leaders
    • that might be as awkward for me as next Sunday!
  7. How we should treat people who hurt us
  8. How we should think about prophecy
  9. How to be faithful to the end.

When I wrote that list down last night, looked at a calendar, that leads us right up to Easter.

3. Keep On Keeping On

Additionally then, brothers and sisters, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received instruction from us on how you should live and please God—as you are doing—do this even more.

1 Thessalonians 4:1–2

Most translations say “Finally”. Paul’s like a lot of preachers, sometimes including this one occasionally: when we say “finally” or “in conclusion”, we’re really only halfway through!

Do this even more

They’re already doing it! Great, do it more!

Think about parents with their children, pleased with them.

No Magic Bullet

I mentioned something similar a few weeks ago.

God is already pleased with you.

Child of God, did you hear those words? If you are in Christ, your heavenly Father is already pleased with you.

Most people were trying to make a father proud of us long before we knew Christ. And if you never felt that, it leaves a mark, a scar. It’s okay to admit that. You may have tried your very best, and no matter how well you did, you never quite measured up.

DAD: Plowed 52 acres when he was 11 years old. GRANDPA: “If you’d have really tried, you could have plowed 60.”

My grandma told my dad later that he was on the phone that night bragging to his brother about how much little Kenny had plowed.

That may sound terribly familiar to some of you… and I used the word “terrible” on purpose. If that’s the case, then bro/sis, there is Good News in this passage for you.

A. The Father is not like your dad.

It’s so easy for us to think the heavenly Father is an image of our earthly father, but that’s exactly backwards from reality. Fatherhood is part of being created in God’s image; earthly fathers are supposed to be reflecting back to God His own glory as they parent their children.

But even with the best dads the world, that image of our heavenly Father is distorted by sin. Your heavenly Father is not the reflection of your earthly father, He’s the perfection of what it means to be a Father. And He loves His children. Not only that, but…

B. The Father is already pleased with you.

Did you catch that in verse 2? “you should live and please God—as you are doing…” How’s that? The Thessalonians still had room to grow. Their all baby Christians. Paul just said that he wanted to “complete what was lacking in their faith.” And yet, he says they’re already pleasing to God.

Remember the story of when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist? The Spirit comes down in the form of a dove, and then the Father speaks?

And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.”

Matthew 3:17

You might say, “Oh, that’s refering to Jesus, not us.” And you’re right… but because of Jesus, we’ve been adopted into God’s family. And God loves His children.

See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children—and we are!

1 John 3:1

John says, “See? SEE?!” Do you see it? Do you? When we come to the Father, it’s through the Son, His beloved Son with whom he has always been, and always will be, well pleased.

Because you’re in Christ, the Father doesn’t look down on you and frown. He looks at you and smiles. If you have the greatest spiritual week of your life, don’t sin a single time, he won’t love you anymore than he does right now, after a week where I’m guessing that’s not the case.

Knowing that the Father is already pleased with you in Christ, that frees you up on the inside. Your motivation becomes gratitude and joy instead of guilt and fear. You so that you live in order to please Him—“as you are doing, do so even more.

We all need to hear the call to let our love overflow, but first we need to understand: we’re already unconditionally loved by the Father. And nothing’s every going to change that. If you were to go through the rest of today and not sin a single time, he wouldn’t love

CONCLUSION: A Command and a Gift

Everything Paul is praying for them he’s also commanding them to do.

“Increase and overflow in love”: Two weeks from now, in 4:9–11 he says even though they’re doing well in loving one another, but they should do so even more.

“Holy and blameless hearts”: Most of the rest of the book is expounding on that theme, as Paul does his best from afar to “complete what is lacking in their faith.”

Everything that Paul is commanding them to do, he’s also praying for the Father to accomplish. And that’s how it works in the kingdom of God. We talked about this not that long ago in the Paradox series. We work, we put in the effort, we “work harder than any of them”; all the while knowing it’s “yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”

God is not going to call you to do something that He won’t empower you to do.