Reassure

1 Thessalonians 3: “7 Therefore, brethren, rwe were gcomforted over you in all our affliction and sdistress by your faith: 8 For now twe live, if ye ustand fast in the Lord.[1]

I.   Relate

     A. Fellowship

     B. Faith

II. Reply

     A. Follow

     B. Found

III. Rely

     A. Function

     B. Fasten

Introduction:  As we are in this time of separation some are finding such a need to return to the place of being in the presence of others that they are casting caution to the wind.  Some are afraid and have been brainwashed into believing that everyone who steps outside is going to become sick and die unless they wear a mask and stay away from touching each other.

This is another example of using a thing to separate us from each other.  Which side are you on?  Don’t you care that others will die if you don’t wear a mask?  Don’t cough on me!  It used to be that if someone had a bad cough others would show concern and ask if they could help.

There must be a place in the middle of this mess where we can learn the message that God is attempting to teach us.  It might be this; if you know you are sick and might be contagious then care for others by protecting them from you until you are not contagious anymore.  If you are well and can protect yourself from getting the illness that the others have, help them and care for those who need to know you still care about them.

If all that we do with this thing now is to fear what we cannot see, then we have not sought God’s will in this thing.  Remember Matthew 6:25-34; the Do Not Worry message from Jesus?  Seems not many are quoting or thinking of that just now.  Mostly what I hear are empty words like, “At the end of the day we will get through this thing together.”  At the end of the day it gets dark.  Unless we understand that we are here to serve each other because that’s what Jesus said and did, we are not in this thing together.  We are looking for ways to stay apart from each other until it gets dark at the end of the day.

If anybody had reason to feel that the darkness might be better than the light that was being shed on his reality it was Paul.  He so wanted to be with those who wanted to be with him yet he had to stay separated from them.  Instead of flailing around wasting energy, Paul sent someone who could go.  Instead of wishing a blessing for himself, Paul sent Timothy.  Timothy received a blessing.  So did those in Thessalonica.  Later when Paul heard news from a faithful familiar group of followers Paul received the blessing and it didn’t come at the end of his day.

Scripture:  Today’s scripture is 1 Thessalonians 3:7-8.  When you have found it please rise to your feet for the reading of God’s written word.

Prayer: Please be seated

Message:  Follow as we read from 1 Thessalonians 3:1-7.  Wherefore…  When the separation from you and my need to hear from you became so great we decided it would be better to stay back in Athens and send Timothy to you.  I wanted to be in two places at the same time because it was important that you start your church on the righteous foundation.  We did not want anyone to persuade you while we were apart that we had anything but love for you.  You know because I told you that one day we would be tested and now that time is here.  When I couldn’t stand it anymore I sent one that I trust as I trust my own self so that you might not be tempted to follow the wrong leader so that our time with you would come to nothing.  Now that Timothy came back and told us we are more than ever wanting to see and celebrate your faith with you.

There are many ways to relate with others.  In the workplace there is the common thread for the good of the group that everyone wants success for the workgroup.  If that turns out to be untrue, the tie that binds will break.  Many years ago a friend stopped by and asked if I might consider coming back to the old plant and run it until the fuel ran out.  The company had long since become a different company and the decision was made to run the old plant with no maintenance until it either failed or ran out of fuel.

The younger folks had already left for other jobs and now there were no experienced people to keep the place going.  Rachael wasn’t too keen on the idea.  She hadn’t forgotten the day that I flew home, put on a business suit, and reported to the office to hear that my career had ended. We received a retirement package and were serving from the outside with our own little consulting company.  She didn’t have much sympathy for their dilemma.

My friend responded to our caution by saying, “Brady, the company has always been good to me and now they need our help.”  I asked him, “What company?”  The company that I left is gone and now it is merging with even another company.  A company is a man-made thing that eats money.  If you stop feeding it, it dies.  I still have loyalty and wonderful memories of those that I worked alongside but the company is not human and certainly not my god.

Paul understood that the real everlasting kinship that we have with each other is realized when Jesus truly comes into your life and He becomes your Lord.  “Therefore, brethren” means that now we are related through the fellowship of faith that can only be known when we know Him.

In submarines and computer networks like the internet there is a common term.  To understand what else is out there one of like kind sends out a signal that causes an echo so that the one who sent it gets the echo back that they sent from the one they were looking for.  The term is pinging.  Navy folks understand that term that we in the computer industry took.  Humans actually took the idea from sea mammals like whales and porpoises.  We send out a message and when we receive the recognized reply then we know that we have communicated.  In the case of a submarine it might not be a pleasant thing to hear that ping and know that they next sound coming might be a depth charge.

Paul sent a ping.  His name was Timothy.  When those who sent Timothy received the familiar reply, the sounding that followed was comfortable.  They found family.  They needed to hear that they had family in a distant place because the place where they were then was distressful.  They found comfort even though they were not in a comfortable place.

When we learn that there are those who have received the truth from us it is a blessing unlike any other dividend that our investment we make in others can return.  It is a great thing to know that your children want to follow in your footsteps.  For those years when I was at that plant working alongside folks that worked with my uncle, it was comfortable hearing stories of him and I could feel his connection.  Sitting alone in a tree waiting for a deer to come by always brought memories of sitting in a meadow hearing the beagles howl and soon the rabbit would run past us.  In the tree stand I felt my dad waiting for the dogs.  The real comfort is now though because I don’t have to be comforted by the past anymore.  Now I see my dad with my mom and my siblings.  There they are right next to me as we are kneeling at the feet of God The Father and Jesus.  That comforts me.

8 For now twe live, if ye ustand fast in the Lord.[2]  I can imagine my family in that place called heaven saying that about me.  There really is nothing else that you can fasten your faith to except Jesus.  We can ping all we want to but we will never hear a reply as strong and loud as we will when we pray.  God so wants to hear from you.  Yes we are talking about the investment that Paul made to a group in Thessalonica but Paul is a symbol or type that represents Jesus.  God so wanted to hear a reply from us that He sent His Timothy.  God sent His only Son Jesus so that He might hear a reply back from us.

Dependences.  That’s a funny word on a tax return.  How many do you have?  For each person who made an investment in your life they are depending on your faith.  The Mormons mistakenly believe that theirs who have died are depending on them who are alive to be baptized for them so that they might be saved.  Well we know that’s not right, but the truth is we do depend on each other’s faith.

Paul’s comfort depended on hearing a favorable reply that his work and pain that he suffered in Thessalonica had not been for nothing.  He wanted to hear from his family there.  We all know how it feels to lose a loved one in this life not knowing whether we will see them again in heaven.  There is that feeling of dread and discomfort.  We who are parents of grown children all feel that emptiness until we hear of their salvation.  WE WANT TO HEAR THAT FAMILIAR PING.  That is what God hears when we pray.  He sent one that returned with good news.

Prayer:

Invitation:  OK, We have our salvation.  We are praying.  We are reading His written word so that He might communicate and still send the pings.  We’re just coasting by now right?  We can lift our right foot off the pedal.  It’s all downhill from here.

Let’s read to the end of chapter three.

“9 For wwhat thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God; 10 xNight and day xypraying exceedingly zthat we might see your face, and amight perfect that which is lacking in your faith? 11 Now God himself band our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, ||cdirect our way unto you. 12 And the Lord dmake you to increase and abound ein love fone toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: 13 To the end he may gstablish your hearts hunblameable in holiness before God, beven our Father, iat the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ kwith all his saints.” [3] 

Have you been to that place where Paul was?  Wanting so much just to be in the same place again with those in your family of faith that this separation hurts?  Praying exceedingly that one day you might be back in seeing distance?

That is how it is supposed to feel when you have a true church family.  Bible Study is so that God might perfect that which is lacking in my faith!  I pray that God will direct the path of those who have decided to wander and not trust His safety.  I pray that our love for each other here in Merry Oaks Baptist Church will increase in value to us so that nothing else can stand in the way of our love for each other.  I pray that in the end of all this that our hearts might be established unblameable in holiness before God our Heavenly Father when Jesus returns and we arrive with the saints in heaven.  Will you join me in that prayer?  Either there where you are or here where we can pray together as we sing…

r 2 Cor. 1:4.
g See Col. 2:2.
s See 1 Cor. 7:26.
t Rom. 7:9.
u See Phil. 4:1.
[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 1 Th 3:7–8). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
t Rom. 7:9.
u See Phil. 4:1.
[2] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 1 Th 3:8). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
w So ch. 1:2.
x 2 Tim. 1:3. So Acts 26:7. See ch. 2:9.
x 2 Tim. 1:3. So Acts 26:7. See ch. 2:9.
y See Rom. 1:10.
z ch. 2:17.
a 2 Cor. 13:9, 11.
b Gk. as ver. 13.
|| Or, guide. Luke 1:79.
c 2 Thess. 3:5.
d ch. 4:1, 10 (Gk.).
e So ch. 4:9. 2 Pet. 1:7.
f ch. 5:15 (Gk.). See Gal. 6:10.
g Ecclus. 6:37. James 5:8. See Rom. 16:25. So Ps. 31:24. 1 Cor. 1:8. 2 Thess. 2:17. & 3:3.
h See Luke 1:6. So ch. 5:23. Comp. Phil. 1:10.
b Gk. as ver. 13.
i See ch. 2:19.
k Zech. 14:5. Jude 14. Comp. ch. 4:14.
[3] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 1 Th 3:9–13). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.