I Thessalonians 2: 13-20

We return to our study of 1 Thessalonians. I hope that you are reading this on your own. The background for 1 Thessalonians is Acts 17 where we find Paul involved in an incredible ministry. What happened in the three weeks Paul was in Thessalonica? Many came to know Christ. What did Paul do that made him so effective? He put God first, he chose to be a blessing rather than a burden, and he shared. This week what will stand out for us is that Paul was an encourager.

We all need encouragement. The word ‘encourage’ in the English language has French roots. It is made up of two words, “en” which means “in” and “corage” which means “heart.” So to encourage is to put something in someone’s heart. Over the years, the major idea was to put courage into someone’s heart, so we have the word “encourage.”

The opposite of “encourage” is to “discourage.” This means that we take courage out of someone’s heart.

If someone should visit the doctor, would we encourage or discourage them? Under most circumstances, we would try to put courage in their hearts. They may have a fear, a fear of finding something out, a fear of receiving bad news, a fear of needles. So we would try to put courage in their hearts.

If someone is getting ready to jump off a cliff, would we encourage or discourage them? Under most circumstances, we would try to take the courage out of their hearts, we would discourage them. They might think that life was not worth living, that the pain of jumping would be less than the pain of living. So we would try to reverse that and take the courage to jump away from them.

We have a lot of fear in our lives. God has not given us the spirit of fear, so our fear has other sources. It comes in part because of our fallen sinful nature. Some caution is in order. God made us to recognize danger and avoid it. But perfect love casts out fear. Fear, in the Biblical sense, is a problem. It is a problem we need to overcome.

When we think about talking to someone about Christ, many of us have fear. While it might be fear of rejection, fear of appearing stupid, or fear of confrontation, all have the same effect. We close our mouths and do not speak up. We may not talk about Christ and Christian things, we may not invite people to church or special events, we may not discuss spiritual things with people. All of this is predicated by fear.

So we need to put courage in the hearts of those around us to share the good news.

So also, our young people need courage in their hearts to say “no” to the pressures they face. We worry about drugs, alcohol and sex, but we should also worry about their ability to deal with teachings that go against the Bible. We have advocates for all sorts of agendas that are seeking to win the minds of young people. These should worry us as much. Under the guise of science, evolution is portrayed as fact. Under the guise of health, abortion and birth control are promoted. Under the guise of multiculturalism, homosexuality is approved. Under the guise of literature, the Bible, when spoken of, is often shown as myth. Not all schools or all teachers promote or buy into these issues, but many do. The pressure on a student to accept these teachings can be enormous. Our young people need courage in their heart to stand up for what is right.

The Thessalonians needed courage in their hearts to deal with persecution. I am not aware that any of us have been dragged into court in front of a hostile group of people because of our faith. That is what the Thessalonians faced. But we have faced fear and we have feared persecution for our beliefs.

In dealing with the fact of persecution, Paul gives them a Biblical perspective in coping with and dealing with it.

1 Thessalonians 2:13-20

First, persecution is one result of a serious commitment to the Word of God (vs. 13). 13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

Starting in verse 14, Paul will highlight their persecution. But undergirding the persecution of the church in Thessalonica was this one thing. They obeyed the word of God. This word was at work in them. It was not taken as men’s word, to be accepted or rejected, but they took the word given by Paul as given by God.

If God told you to love your neighbor, would you do it? The Thessalonians would. If God told you to stay with your spouse, would you do it? The Thessalonians would. If God told you to be baptized, would you do it? The Thessalonians would. If God told you to give a tithe, would you do it? The Thessalonians would. If God told you to offer forgiveness to someone who had wronged you, would you do it? The Thessalonians would. They took what Paul said as being from God. The word worked for them. Why, because they believed it.

What happened as a result? When you live right within a group of people who are not living right, you will suffer persecution.

Persecution can be verbal. People can say bad things about you.

Persecution can be social. People may avoid your company or mock you in front of others.

Persecution can be physical. Some people are physically harmed for the faith and some have even died. Others have lost homes or jobs because they are Christians.

I want to encourage you to have a serious commitment to the word of God. God’s way is the best way. But don’t be surprised when that serious commitment brings you into conflict with other people.

Second, persecution for living a holy live brings you into the company of the heroes of the faith (vs. 14-15a).

14 For you, brothers, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, 15 who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out.

When we think of the Thessalonians, we think of people who lived in about 48-49AD. If Jesus died in 33 AD, we find that the church had only existed about 15 years. In 15 years, who would the heroes of the church be? Who would people look up to? What we find when we think through who these people would be is that all of them suffered persecution.

First would be the church in Judea. This would be the Judeans who were kicked out of Jerusalem and spread around by persecution. Second would be Jesus Christ. He suffered persecution and died on a Roman cross. Third would be the prophets. This could speak of Old Testament or New Testament prophets. We know that Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and Jeremiah all faced a great deal of persecution. And finally, Paul and Silas were also driven out of Philippi through persecution.

The church at Thessalonica imitated the churches up to that point by receiving persecution. They suffered from their own countrymen.

Paul is seeking to put courage in their hearts. These Christians were on an equal par with any other Christian the world had known up to that point. They were equal to the Jewish Christians in Judea, they suffered as Jesus had suffered. They suffered like the prophets had suffered. They suffered as Paul and Silas had suffered. All received the badge of suffering.

Are you in that group? Have you ever had anyone say anything against you because you are a Christian? If so, join the crowd! Have you ever had anyone distance themselves from you because of your faith? If so, join the crowd. Have you ever had anyone try to hurt you because you are a Christian? Join the crowd!

If you say yes to any of those, then you are part of a trail of people who, because they follow the word of God, have suffered to one extent or another for their faith.

Third, persecution for following Christ is not the result of you being or doing anything wrong, persecution comes from evil people.

15b. They displease God and are hostile to all men 16 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.

Notice that Paul reaffirms that this reaction had nothing to do with the Thessalonians. Anytime someone rejects the message, we blame ourselves. Anytime someone gets upset, we assume we didn’t do something right. In so doing, we place too heavy a burden on ourselves. The truth is that people who do not follow the truth will attack those who do.

Notice the characteristics of these people in verse 15.

First, they displease God. When people come after you for your faith, they are not pleasing God. We can often back down, compromise our method, seek to make the Bible more palatable to people, but we neglect to understand that people reject the truth because they reject God.

Second, they are hostile to all men. Anyone who disagrees with them is a target. The people who attacked the Thessalonian Christians may have had a reputation for going after anyone that they didn’t agree with. But the hostility lay in them; it didn’t reside in the Thesssalonians.

Third, their aim is to stop us from speaking. In Thessalonica, they didn’t want them to speak to the Gentiles. Today, they don’t want you to bring your Bible to work, discuss spiritual things in public forums. They do not want people to share their faith. When Pastor Kiran was here, he said that they didn’t mind people being Christians in India, he said that persecution came when you tried to win others to Jesus Christ. In some places it was illegal to convert!

Fourth, their destiny is certain. Their opposition to you, their persecution of you, does not go unnoticed by God. They “heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.” In Paul’s mind, this particular group of Jewish people had reached a point of no return. Their hearts were so hard to the gospel, their opposition so intense, that they were under God’s wrath, even at that time.

How does this encourage us? If someone had known that one of the flights that was taking off from Boston on 9-11 was going to end up in one of the Twin Towers in New York, they would not have gotten on the plane with the other people and would have tried to tell others not to go.

If we know the end of those who persecute the gospel, we will not become discouraged and go over to their side. We will encourage them to trust Christ. And we will continue to follow the Lord until he returns for us.

Fourth, persecution binds people together (vs. 17-20)

17 But, brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. 18 For we wanted to come to you--certainly I, Paul, did, again and again--but Satan stopped us. 19 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? 20 Indeed, you are our glory and joy.”

Notice how personal this is. Paul describes himself as “torn away… ” He uses the words ‘intense longing.” Verse 18 says “We wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul did, again and again…”

We all know what this is like. One of the hardest times for me was missing the burial of my mother. I was stationed in California, had been back for the funeral, but was unable to come back for the spring burial. During the time of difficulty the desire was to be there with family and help support them and be supported.

If someone you know is going through a hard time, your heart reaches out to them. You can’t help it. Their suffering is like a magnet pulling you to their heart.

But what about being on the other end? What does it mean to go through suffering and have people step up and be there for you? It puts courage in your heart! It causes you to want to go on. It helps you over the rough times.

Paul was so effective because he was an encourager. He came into Thessalonica from a rough situation. But he comes wanting to please God, he wanted to be a blessing, not a burden, he share with them and he encouraged them. They knew he was on their side.

If we want to be effective in our homes, men, women, children, we need to be encouragers. Help put courage in the hearts of your family to live for God. If we want to make a difference for Christ at work, be an encourager. Give people the courage to take steps forward towards the Savior. If we want to be effective as a church, we need to encourage one another. Many of us face all kinds of fears. We need people to come and take the courage out of us to follow the world, self or the devil. We need people to come and put courage in us to follow God’s word, the Holy Spirit and to do what is right.

To the degree that we get involved with one another in the ministry of encouragement is the degree to which God is going to bless our church. Think about your part. Do you know someone who is here today for whom being here is a struggle? Affirm their decision. Do you know someone here who is under the gun? Encourage them to do what is right.

And God will bless!