1 Thessalonians Introduction

Living with hope

Now there some people who have a very mystical understanding of heaven.

They think of it as this place in the clouds where we all float around with wings

and there angels playing harps. And no wonder people think heaven is boring if

that’s how they picture it.

But that’s far removed from the Biblical picture of heaven. According to the

Bible, heaven is a real world. Its this world, but its made new. Its recreated to

be the way it was meant to be.

And so that’s a much more real and exciting picture of heaven. Its something

to really look forward to. And the Bible doesn’t give us all the details about

heaven. But one of the ways it describes it is by drawing a contrast with the

sufferings of this world.

And so just imagine for a moment a balance scale. There’s a picture on the

screen to help you imagine. And just imagine on the one side of the scale

there’s the heavy weight of all the suffering in this world. All the suffering you

can imagine - holocausts. All the rapes. All the torture and human trafficking,

all the natural disasters - all the children dying of leukemia and starvation.

Imagine all the suffering. Just imagine could be concentrated and poured out

on one side of that scale. What a heavy weight that would be. But now just

imagine on the other side of the scale there’s the weight of the future glory

and happiness of heaven. Where would the balance lie? Which one would be

heavier? Well look at 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 7. Here’s the answer. Paul

draws this comparison.

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory

that far outweighs them all.”

Now Paul isn’t denying the fact that the weight of suffering in this world is

heavy. Paul suffered terribly himself. He knows the weight of heavy suffering.

But in comparison to the weight of the happiness and the beauty and glories of

heaven, he can describe them as light and momentary.

Romans 8 verse 18 says “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with

the glory that will be revealed.”

And so that’s just one way the Bible describes our Christian hope. And once

again it should make us excited. There’s a joy and a happiness that’s coming

that’s beyond anything we could imagine

But we need to be clear. When the Bible uses the word hope, it does so a bit

differently from the way we normally use it.

If I say, I hope the Springboks will win the rugby championship, its something I

wish would happen, but it probably wont. The All Blacks are too good.

Or if I say, I hope bafana bafana will qualify for the next world cup, its

something I wish would happen, but there’s a good chance it won’t.

Well not so with the Bible. When the Bible talks about hope, its not something

uncertain that we can only wish for. Rather its talking about something certain

that we can expect.

(SLOW) And so to hope for heaven isn’t just to dream about it and to aspire to

it. No to hope for heaven is to expect it and to be sure that that’s where you

going.

And so this brings us to the whole question of Christian assurance. Are we sure

that we going to heaven?

Now when it comes to assurance of salvation, there 2 extremes we need to

avoid.

On the one hand We mustn’t be too quick to offer assurance.

Some people are too quick to offer assurance. As long as you’ve been baptized.

As long as you’ve completed the confirmation class, as long as you’ve prayed

the sinner’s prayer. And asked Jesus to into your heart.

According to some people, that guarantees your passage to heaven.

And it doesn’t matter that your life’s completely unchanged. There’s no sorrow

for sin. There’s no true repentance. There’s no fruit of the Spirit. As long as

believe that Jesus is God He died on the cross for your sins, then that’s enough.

And people forget that even the demons believe those things. The demons

believe Jesus is God. The demons believe that He died on the cross. And yet

that does nothing for their salvation. They destined for destruction

And yet, this is the false assurance that they give. And this is a massive

problem in South Africa. 80 percent of people claim to be saved. But surely

there’s a high percentage who have false assurance.

One pastor puts it like this:

Imagine you arrive at church on a Sunday morning and I’m due to lead, but for

some reason I haven’t arrived. And so Solanga improvises. He songs the

service. He leads us in songs. And then finally he calls me up to preach in the

hope that maybe I’ve slipped in the back. But then there’s this awkward silence

as everyone looks around and they realize I’m still not here. And just as

Solanga’s trying to work out what to do, suddenly I come bursting through one

of these side doors. and I’m out of breath. And I say, “I’m so sorry I’m late” I

was on my way to church. I was nice and early so I decided to walk. And as I

was crossing the road, this taxi came speeding along at about 100km/h. And it

obviously didn’t see me. It crashed straight into me and sent me flying. And so

I’m really sorry. That delayed me a bit. That’s why I’m late.

And you look at me. And you think:

Kyle’s delusional. What a blatant lie!

A person who gets smacked by a taxi at 100 km/h… he’s gona look a little bit

different.

Same is true with conversion. If you’ve met true and living God. if you’ve

encountered the Lord Jesus Christ. If you’ve become a citizen of heaven. If

you’ve welcomed the Holy Spirit in your heart, that’s will make a difference to

how you look. You won’t just look the same. Your life will be changed.

And so we mustn’t deceive people by giving them false assurance. Some

people are too quick to give assurance.

But at the same time, we must also avoid the other extreme. There some

people who are too slow to offer assurance. They always questioning your

salvation. Yes you’ve confessed faith in Christ. Yes you’ve made public stands

for him. Yes there’ve been some real changes in your life. But there’s still this

question mark over your salvation. You not quite zealous enough or you not

quite generous enough. Or you not quite holy enough. there’s still that sin that

you haven’t mastered in your life. And because of these ongoing struggles, you

can’t be sure of your salvation.

And so this is also a problem in South Africa. Not only do we have many fake

Christians who have false assurance. We also have many true Christians who

have no assurance. And its almost as if they need to be perfect in order to find

assurance.

And they forget the example of Paul himself. In Philippians 3 verse 12 he says:

Not that I have already obtained this or have already been made perfect, but I

press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

And so even the apostle Paul wasn’t perfect. Even Paul still struggled with sin.

And yet he had no doubts about his salvation. He knew that he was going to

heaven.

And so this is the other extreme we need to avoid. Some people are too slow

to offer assurance. And this also has dangerous consequences for our lives.

I’m sure there some of us who can relate: you’ve got these nagging doubts at

the back of your mind: Maybe I’m not really saved? Maybe God doesn’t really

love me? Maybe I won’t really make it to heaven?

If those are the doubts that are plaguing your mind, let me tell you, its

unavoidable, that will impact your life. It’ll sap your joy. It’ll erode your hope.

It’ll discourage you as a Christian. And so that’s not a good way to live. And the

good news is we don’t have to live that way. That’s what we gona see in 1

Thessalonians. It is possible to be sure of your salvation and to live your life

with hope.

And so that’s the title I’ve given to this series. There’s so much hopelessness in

the world. Here’s a lesson on hope: How to live with hope.

And so that brings us to this letter. Paul gives a great example here of avoiding

both of these two extremes. On the one hand, he’s not too slow to offer

assurance. He assures the Thessalonians that they really are saved. On the

other hand, he’s not too quick to offer assurance. Before he assures them, he

shows a great concern for genuine faith.

And so That’s our first point this morning. I want you to see Paul’s great

concern for genuine faith.

Please turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 1.

Just to give you a bit of background as you turn there, Paul and his companions

visit the Thessalonians in about 50 AD. They the first people to bring the gospel

to this city. He stays there for three weeks, preaching for 3 consecutive

Sabbaths. He reasons with them. He tries to prove to them that Jesus is the

Christ. And many of the Thessalonians get converted. But after 3 weeks some

of the Jews get jealous. They form a mob. They try and capture Paul and Paul

and his companions are forced to flee during the night. And so right at the

beginning of this newly formed church, Paul is torn away and he’s forced to

abandon them. And in 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 he shares some of his feelings

at this time.

And I want you to notice what he doesn’t say: He doesn’t just relax in the

sovereignty of God. “I’ve shared the gospel with these people. They’ve

responded with faith. Now, I don’t need to worry. God will look after them.”

No Paul is deeply concerned. He’s agitated. He’s restless. He can’t bear the

fact that he’s left them alone. Look at chapter 3 verse 1.

“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 God’s fellow

worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in

your faith.”

Same thing in verse 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.”

And so this shows us Paul’s concern for genuine faith? It’s not enough for Paul

that someone responds to an altar call, and prays the sinner’s prayer, and fills

in a response card, and expresses faith in Christ. That’s not enough evidence

for Paul. He still questions the genuineness of their faith. He fears that their

faith might be fake.

And so that’s one of the main purposes of this series in 1 Thessalonians. We

gona see the marks of genuine faith. And its an opportunity for us to question

our faith. Is our faith really genuine?

And thats not a popular thing to do today.

To say to someone: I’m not sure if you really saved. I’ve got question marks

about your salvation.

There a couple of times I’ve felt led to say that to people in the last couple of

years. And I don’t do it lightly. I do it reluctantly and with much prayer. And

sometimes the response has been positive. People have appreciated my

concern. But mostly its been negative. Some people have left the church.

People have been angry. How dare you say that to me? How dare you

question my faith?

But let me ask you: which one’s more loving? If you don’t see fruit in

someone’s life. Is it more loving just to ignore your concern? And just to treat

them as Christians, let them sit in church, and continue as if they safe, as if

nothing’s wrong? Isn’t it more loving to share your concern in the hope that

they might be saved?

One of the best stories of this involves our very own Anne Chapman. Its her

testimony of how she got saved. She wanted to become a member here at this

church. And it was before I arrived. Paul Colyer was still the Pastor. And even

though Anne was attending this church, Paul didn’t just welcome her into

membership. He first went to go and visit her and ask her some questions

about her faith. And he asked her that well known question: If you were to

stand before God today. And God was to ask you: why should I let you into

heaven? What would you say?

And Anne’s response was: I’ve always been a Christian. I’ve been a good

church goer since I was a child.

And basically Paul Colyer just put his head in his hands. And then without

saying a word. he got up and walked outside and paced up and down in the

garden. And Anne was left sitting there wondering what she did wrong.

But then Paul came back in and said: Anne we need to talk. And he started

meeting with her and through this process, she realized wasn’t truly saved.

And so after many years of attending church and calling herself a Christian, for

the 1st time, just a few years ago, she truly repented of her sins and put her

trust in Jesus.

And so surely you’d agree: Paul Colyer was being a loving pastor. He didn’t just

welcome Anne and assure her. He was concerned for a genuine faith.

But this isn’t just for pastors. Its for all of us. We all part of this great work of

saving sinners. And we mustn’t just a hit and run approach where we share the

gospel and then leave people to the sovereignty of God. No we need a

commitment to follow up.

And so maybe just take a moment to think of the people you’ve shared the

gospel with in the past… have you just shared the gospel with them and then

abandoned them to the sovereignty of God. Or are you following up on their

faith? Are you sending them messages? Are you praying for them? Are you

showing concern for the genuineness of their faith?

And think of those around you who claim to be Christians, but there’s real no

fruit in their lives. Are you just happy to leave them in a deceived condition?

Can’t you see the coldness of that response! When you think about an eternity

in hell. And this person is unaware of that danger. Won’t you do something to

try and expose their deceived condition? Won’t you pray for them? Won’t you

seek an opportunity to challenge them about their faith?

That’s our first point this morning - a great concern for genuine faith.

Now secondly we see a great confidence of true salvation

We still in chapter 3, please look at verse 6. Timothy comes back from his visit

to the Thessalonians. And he comes with a good report. Look at verse 6. But

Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about

your faith and love.

Jump down to verse 8. Notice Paul’s response in verse 8.

“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?”

And that’s really the tone of this letter. Paul’s heard this positive report. And so

that’s what motivates him to write this letter.

And so it teaches us about the importance of encouragement.

Its very interesting when you read the commentators, the big question they

ask is: Why did Paul even write this?

You see, this isn’t a church like in Corinth or in Galatia, where there’s a specific

problem that Paul is addressing. No, this is such a positive letter. The

Thessalonians are doing well. Its a healthy church. Its very hard to find

anything negative about them.

And so one of the most repeated phrases in this book is, “you already know

this”?

Its repeated 11 times Paul keeps telling the Thessalonians. This isn’t new. You

already know this. He often says “you already doing this”.

Twice, he even says to them: you don’t actually need anyone to write to you.

And so you don’t actually need this letter. You already know this. You already

doing it. You don’t need anyone to write.

And so it does raise this question. why does Paul write if the Thessalonians are

doing so well?

Well look at chapter 4 verse 1.

Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in

fact you are living.”

they already pleasing God. So Why does he write?

“Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.”

Same thing in chapter 4 verse 9

Now about brotherly love, we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves

have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact you do love all the

brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and

more.”

And so this is the point. Paul doesn’t only write to challenge people when they

doing badly. He also writes to encourage people when they doing well.

He wants them to keep on going.

And that’s a good lesson for us to learn. Some times as Christians we only focus

on the failures of others. And the only time we speak to someone about their

Christian life is if there’s something they doing wrong. And we need to correct

them And we might throw in a few positive comments to soften the blow, but

the main purpose is to challenge and correct. And its as if we don’t notice all

the good things that people are doing. And even if we do notice something

good we still hesitant to tell them in case we look like we sucking up, or in case

we tempt them to be proud. No, we want them to stay humble. We don’t

wanna put that temptation in their lives and so we never affirm them for

anything good.

Well here we see we mustn’t have that hesitation. That’ll produce a very cold

and discouraged church, lacking in joy and lacking in hope.

Its very different from the apostle Paul. He hears this good report. And he

doesn’t think, okay cool, Now I can focus on someone else. No he immediately

wants to write to them. To encourage them to keep on going.

And the great encouragement we can offer people is the assurance of

salvation.

He wants them to know that they are saved.

Just notice some of the confident statements he makes.

Firstly, chapter 1 verse 2. Notice the word, all. he says: “I always thank God for

all of you…”

So he’s not just talking about some of them. He’s talking about all of them.

Why does he thank God for them? verse 4.

For we know brothers, loved by God, that He has chosen you…

Now just think about those words. Wouldn’t you love it if this was said about

you? Not just by anyone, by the apostle himself. Written in the Bible. I know,

Lungisani, that you are loved by God, that you are chosen by Him.

I know Jenny that you are loved by God, chosen by Him.

That’s how Paul writes to this church. And he’s not just talking about a few

individuals. He’s talking about all of them.

Look at chapter 5 verse 4. Paul’s talking about the return of Jesus, its gona

come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. But look at what he says in Verse

4…

But you brothers are not in darkness, so that this day should surprise you like a

thief. (No) You are all sons of the light and sons of the day.

Paul’s convinced that the Thessalonians are saved.

And so look at what he says about their future. Chapter 5 verse 9.

“For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our

Lord Jesus Christ.”

And so you see how certain Paul is? If he had any doubts previously, those

doubts are gone.

Paul is 100 percent convinced. These Thessalonians are saved and they not

destined for hell. They destined for heaven.

There’s a friend of mine who preached at a funeral once. And in his sermon he

explained how faith in Christ guarantees our access to heaven. And afterwards

an old lady came up to him and said: “John, what you said today is wonderful

news… if it’s true… if it’s true.

Well for Paul there’s no if. If you have true faith in Jesus, you are destined for

heaven. It’s a wonderful message and there’s no if.

And so once again just imagine having that certainty for yourself. No matter

what happens in your life. No matter what you do. No matter what anyone else

does to you. There’s nothing that can stop you from going to heaven?

Wouldn’t that make a difference to how you lived?

Wouldn’t it take away your fears? You don’t have to fear missing out!

- on the latest travel experience or the latest adventure. You going to a new

world with scenery and experiences more beautiful and exciting than anything

you ever imagined.

You don’t need to fear rejection or loss of relationship. You on your way to

heaven where you’ll find friendship and love and intimacy beyond your widest

dreams

You don’t need to fear sickness and death. You’ll on your way to heaven where

you’ll live for ever.

And so if you really believed this, wouldn’t it free you up to take more risks?

Wouldn’t we be willing to go to more dangerous places to share the gospel?

Wouldn’t we be willing to stand up for the gospel even when people might

hate us?

Wouldn’t we be willing to sacrifice pleasures in this world in order to serve

God?

Listen to these words by JP Harper.

“There many people and cultures throughout human history who have

believed in some kind of life after death – but there’s always a cloud of

uncertainty hanging over it and so it never really revolutionizes the lives of

those who believe it.”

But compare that with the early Christian church.

“They had this powerful conviction that they would be raised again and this led

them to give up their lives joyfully – sometimes in martyrdom – sometimes by

not fleeing a plague-stricken city. They would remain in the city to help the sick

and dying.”

These are the risks they were willing to take.

And so consider question: “what kind of self-giving obedience might you and I

show if we really were convinced that resurrection lay just around the corner.”

Surely that would transform our lives!

And so I hope you can see the importance of having assurance.

We live in a world that is lacking in hope.

And especially at the moment, with everything going on in our country, if you

following the media, its easy to be sucked into pessimism and hopelessness for

our world.

And so my prayer is that this letter of 1 Thessalonians will help us. As Paul

wrote in chapter 4 verse 13.

“Brothers we do not want you to grieve like the rest of men who have no

hope.”

We are not a people who have no hope. May we learn to live with hope?

Let’s pray

Lord’s supper.

Part of the reason for doing this is as a remembrance. We look back and remember Jesus

death for us. bread symbolizes body broken for us. grape juice symbolizes blood poured out

for us.

But there’s another purpose of the meal. Its not just to look back to Christ’s first coming. Its

also to look forward to His second coming. It’s a reminder of the great feast in heaven when

we will sit at the Lord’s table and enjoy a meal with Him.

And that’s why the Bible encourages us to celebrate the Lord’s supper until He comes. We

keep doing this as a reminder of Christ’s death, but also looking forward, remembering that

He’s coming again.

Now let me just remind you, this bread is normal bread – but a symbol of the body of Christ

Grape juice normal grape juice – symbol of the blood of Christ.

And as we eat and drink these symbols we feed on Christ by faith.

And so if you not willing to trust in Christ this morning, then please don’t feel pressurized to

take part. This is for those who want to feed on Christ by faith.

Listen to these words from 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Bible commands us to examine ourselves before we take part in this meal. So I’m going to

give you a few moments to examine yourself and to confess your sins and remember the

death of Jesus for you. And then there’s a prayer of confession on the screen which we’ll

say together.

We do not presume to come to Your table merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, only in your great mercy. We are not fit to gather up the crumbs under Your table. But you, Lord, are always the same. Your mercy is everlasting. Grant therefore that we may by faith eat the flesh and drink the blood of Your dear Son Jesus Christ, that we may be united to Him and He to us. Amen