1Th 3:1 -10 “1 So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. 2 We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow-worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. 4 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. 5 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 might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless. 6 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. 7 Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. 8 For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. 9 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? 10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.”

So what did Paul do when he was in Thessalonica that was so effective? He connected with the people.

1. He put God first.

2. He became a blessing, not a burden.

3. He shared

4. He encouraged

5. He had a spiritual focus

What did Paul focus on? What will we focus on as we work on a spiritual level to help one another?

1. He focused on their faith.

1 So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. 2 We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow-worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith…5 For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith…6 But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love.

Notice what he says to them. He has come to strengthen and encourage them in their faith (vs. 2).

We don’t talk this way very much in our church. I can’t remember the last time someone said to someone else “we are here to encourage you in your faith.” I can’t remember the last time someone said, “I called to find out about your faith.” I can’t remember the last time someone said, “I heard good news about your faith.”

Don’t misunderstand me. There are many of us who are concerned about your faith. There are many who wonder how strong your faith is in the struggles. But in our conversation with one another, we do not bring that spiritual focus.

Notice that this does not ask us to grill people about their faith. It might be appropriate to do so from time to time. Rather, Timothy went to encourage them in their faith. When you see faith in action, affirm it. When you see someone who is in conflict over their faith, help them be strong.

Paul came into Thessalonica with a spiritual focus. Their faith was a high priority. He spoke of it often.

2. He focused on the battle with temptation.

3 so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. 4 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. 5 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 might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.

There are many of you who are under pressure this morning. You have come to church looking for help from God. But mingled with the pressure is great temptation. The temptation is to sin, to compromise your walk with God.

Paul understood the pressure the Thessalonians faced. Their persecution was real. Paul wanted to know if their faith was strong enough to withstand the temptations of the devil.

You are being tempted. Every day you are engaged in a spiritual battle. If you have lost or in danger of losing your job, if you are experience physical sickness, if you are in an unhappy marriage or have problem parents or kids, you are in a place of temptation.

Paul realized this. When he left Thessalonica, he realized how vulnerable the people were to temptation. These were young believers who were facing hard times. He did not want his own efforts wasted by people falling away.

We have seen this in the life of our own church. We have seen people come who received salvation, who rededicated their lives to Jesus Christ. Then a month, six months, a year later, they drift away, some to other churches, which may or may not be a God-thing. And some head back to their old way of life. What we don’t realize is that these are people who have faced temptation and given in to it. Whatever work we may have done appears to be useless.

We cannot expect everyone to walk with the Lord. But we can alert people to the truth of temptation. Some of you are in the midst of a spiritual battle right now. If you say “no” to God, you are going to fall.

Paul was concerned about this. Why? Because he had a spiritual focus.

3. He focused on their walk with the Lord.

7 Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. 8 For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. 9 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?

Verse 8 is the key: For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord.

Their faith is strong. They have not given in to temptation. They are standing firm in the Lord.

Paul is not afraid to put his emotions out in front of them. Their testimony encourages him. To see this group of people standing firm for God in spite of all they have gone through is thrilling. When Paul looked at what he, Silas and Timothy were going through in Athens and in Corinth, all three received strength from the steadfast way the Thessalonians were standing firm in the Lord.

People who are focused on spiritual things have a lot to be thankful about. There is rejoicing and joy in their lives. You will be excited and motivated that certain people stand strong in their faith.

4. He focused on God’s ability to help them.

9 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? 10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.”

Paul is experience joy. Why? Because of the Thessalonians. What did the Thessalonians do that caused joy? They stayed firm in the faith. Why did they stand firm in the faith? Because God was with them, in them and for them. How did Paul know? Because they stood firm in the faith in spite of severe persecution.

Ultimately your faith, your ability to resist temptation, your ability to stand firm in the Lord rests with God. And God is able to strengthen you to the point that you stand firm. So ultimately all the glory goes to God.

Let’s say you hire a carpenter to paint the outside of your house. You walk along the lawn inspecting the work. You turn to him and say, “You did a great job.” To which the contractor says, “Thank you.” This, in spite of the fact that the wall of the house was not done by the contractor, but by one of his crew. He hired the person, provided the paint, brushes, ladder and opportunity. He gave that person everything he needed to succeed. At the end of the day, the contractor got the credit.

Paul realizes how trying it was for the Thessalonians. Sometimes life is hard. But when we lean on the Lord, when we trust in the Lord with all our heart, when we throw ourselves into his hands, when we listen to his voice and follow his leading, people see God’s work in us and give God the glory.

Do you have a spiritual focus? Do you think about your own faith, about facing temptation, about standing firm in the Lord? Are you concerned with the salvation of family, friends, coworkers, people you know in the community? Are you interested in the spiritual health of the church, the spiritual results of our youth program, the ability of the church to reach its goals of worship, evangelism and edification? Do you have a spiritual focus?

Paul did put God first. He was a blessing rather than a burden to the people. He shared with them. He put courage in their hearts. But underlying all of that was a strong spiritual focus. This is why the Thessalonians became believers. He was not there to just be their friend. He was not trying to sell vacuum cleaners. He came with all he had to help the Thessalonians on the spiritual level.

This is what we need in this church. We need people who love the Lord and want to do his will in the worst way. We need people who are concerned about the spiritual condition of their family. We need people to open their mouths and pray to God for others. It’s a shame that so few people come to pray for one another or write notes or make calls during our Dare To Care meeting on Wednesday night.

I am convinced of this. We can dig into our pockets and help people financially. We can sit down with people and help them learn to communicate in the home and improve their marriages. We can support people in times of grief and bring a degree of comfort. We can do all of these things and miss the most important thing. People need the Lord. They need the Lord for salvation. They need the Lord’s strength and help in time of need. They need the Lord’s direction in their lives. They can get that from us if we have a spiritual focus.

So how do we get that spiritual focus?

1. We need to want it. If this message spurs in you a realization that your focus is blurred or non-existent, then you need to say to God, “God, I want to renew my spiritual focus on you. Help me to seek first the kingdom of God and your righteousness.”

2. We need to use God’s conductors of energy. These are prayer, the Bible, the church and ministry. God strengthens you as you involve yourselves in these things.

3. We need to tell someone else that we are working on sharpening our focus. Why? So that they can put courage in our hearts to go forward. Change is hard. It creates fear. But the love of a brother or sister who will encourage you will help you move forward in following the Lord.