2 Thessalonians 3:1-5
Ps Paul Cheng
“…one word that can summarise the responsibility of the church…”
~13 min read
Dear Bethelites,
This is our 40th Anniversary, hence it has been forty years since Bethel Bible-Presbyterian Church was established. The word “church” is a reference to the body of believers. What is the purpose of us existing as a church? We have a tremendous responsibility to be devoted, dedicated, diligent, zealous of good works and to grow spiritually. If there is one word that can summarise the responsibility of the church, perhaps it is the word “faithfulness.”
Is Bethel a faithful church? Are we faithful believers? Faithfulness is one of the best compliments to be given to a person, for it means one is loyal, trustworthy and can be trusted. For a church to be called “faithful,” there has to be evidence. Let us consider 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5, Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil. And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you. And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.
I. A Prayerful People
Finally, brethren, pray for us (v.3a).
Throughout his epistles, the Apostle Paul repeatedly said to the believers that he was praying for them, but here, he was requesting prayers from them.
Paul had spent only a short period of time with the Thessalonians and in that brief period of time, he had grounded them with many wonderful doctrines of the Bible, he had even taught them doctrines of the end times. The Thessalonians could have a head full of knowledge but empty of heart knowledge, and the only way to connect the head knowledge to the heart knowledge was through experience, and that experience came through prayer.
Prayer can be used to teach us spiritual lessons that Bible studies can never teach us. One may know all the difficult doctrines in the Bible, and discern the things hard to be understood in the Holy Scriptures, but they can all be just head knowledge. For example, the Bible teaches that God is truly the Provider, the Protector and the Deliverer, but the only way we can personally experience Him providing for our needs, protecting us from harm and danger, delivering us from sicknesses, is through prayers.
When Paul urged the Thessalonians, pray for us, it was in the context of the gospel work. So, he was involving them in the gospel work, and when souls are saved and brought into the church, and they grow spiritually, these Thessalonians would experience the blessing of seeing the reality of the soul-saving God answering their prayers.
What was Paul’s prayer request? That the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you. Paul could have asked the believers to pray for His financial support, or for his own physical health just as he himself prayed for the thorn in the flesh to be removed. But he did not do that! Instead, he asked for prayers that the Word of God might have free course. Nothing was more important to Paul than the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
Dear friend, as much as we would like to pray for jobs and opportunities, our children to excel in their academic studies, or the finances to purchase a new house, the greater need is to pray that the Word of God may have free course in the hearts of those whom God has brought into our church, especially if they are still unbelievers.
The word free course means to run or to advance without hindrances. In other words, “May the Word of God advance and move ahead without obstruction. The word glorified is to magnify, praise and honour something or someone at the highest level. Paul wanted the people all over the world to receive, believe and embrace the Word of God. He wanted them to magnify, praise and honour the Word of God the way the Thessalonians had received the Word of God when it was first preached to them. The only way that could ever happen was that God must bless the work.
Without God’s help, Bethel would not be able to communicate the gospel; we would not have the freedom of evangelism, let alone disciple and edify the believers. Prayers cannot change the sovereign will of God. God is sovereign; He does not only appoint the end, but He also appointed the means to attain the end. If God has appointed a revival in our church, or the salvation of our loved ones, or blessings to be showered upon our families, and if He has determined that prayer is the means by which these blessings shall be received, then it is most necessary that we must pray.
Preaching the Word of God is a spiritual work, and we are in a fierce spiritual warfare. Thus, verse 2 said, And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men. Unreasonable means perverse. These unreasonable and wicked men may even be found in the church but they are unbelievers, because the end of verse 2 said, for all men have not faith. In a local church like Bethel, there will always be sheep and goats. Jesus said, “My sheep (believer) hears my voice.” The goats (unbelievers) will not hear, and they will be in the church to frustrate the work of the ministry. The worst spiritual battle is not the fight from outside the church, but the fight from within because one will mistake the enemy to be his friend.
One of the best ways to destroy the church, is to dismantle the confidence of the people in the leadership of the church? Once the people lose their confidence in the leadership, they would leave the church, spread all kinds of rumours and people would stop coming to the church and she would gradually die. Satan would be most happy! Those who are actively serving the Lord, especially in the teaching of the Word, be very sure that Satan would attack you intensely. He would use unreasonable and wicked men to generate gossip, false accusations and lies to frustrate your work. He would use evil men to cause the pastors to fear men rather than God, compromise the truth and preach messages that would tickle the ears and please the people.
People need the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, and Bethel needs faithful preachers who are equipped with the knowledge of God’s Word, and when they preach faithfully, the Word can have free course in the hearts of the people. This is the only kind of church God will honour and bless, to the glory of His name. But we can never achieve that unless the people of God rise up and pray for us. Are you a prayerful people?
II. A Trusting People
But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil (v.3).
Faithfulness is one of the characteristics of God. But the moment one says, “The Lord is faithful,” what he is saying is that he knows Him enough, and has experienced Him over a series of events in life, and through those experiences, he is able to conclude that “The Lord is faithful.”
As we deal with the challenges and issues of life, making difficult decisions, facing various trials and struggles, and prayerfully considering the presence of the Almighty God, believing, obeying and trusting His Word at every step of the way. Then as we look back upon the past forty years, we see His hands working in our lives, and we can say with a strong conviction like Paul, But the Lord is faithful.
God has proven Himself to be faithful through our salvation and His Word. He who saved us (justification), continues to save us (sanctification), and will save us unto the uttermost (glorification). He has revealed Himself and His will through the Bible. The more we know His Word, the more we are sure of His will for our lives.
The word stablish means to establish, or to strengthen. God will strengthen us in the inner man. Whatever trials and temptation we are facing right now, the Lord knows and He is able to strengthen us. God not only knows about the temptation but He also knows the amount of burden each and every one of us can carry. He will not allow us to carry beyond what we are able to bear.
God will use His Word to strengthen us. He will use mature Christians (pastor, elders, deacons, preachers) to encourage and strengthen us. People who have been through similar situations as we are going through and they have overcome the trials victoriously, they have been down the road before (so to speak), they would be able to comfort us and strengthen us. God will also use the trials of life to strengthen us. That is one of the purposes of trials, not to destroy us but to mould us into the person God wants us to be.
God has saved us and our salvation from the point of our conversion to all eternity is secured. No one can take away our salvation, but as long as we live in this mortal body we would still be troubled by sin. God wants to protect us and keep us from evil. God protects us from physical harm and danger, and we experience His providential hand working in our lives day by day. He protects us by setting boundaries in His instructions, His Word, that we will not sin against Him and face the consequences of our sins. But He is also gracious in that even when we sin against Him, He is still faithful and He will gently lead us back unto Himself.
We must always remember never to take our eyes away from God and His Word (c.f. Luke 8:22-25). Our Lord Jesus Christ will never forget us nor will He forsake us. He will always be in the vessel, sailing together with us through the storms of life. There will never be a moment in our lives whereby He is not with us. He promised to take us to the other side, to heaven, and He will surely keep His promise. A faithful believer is someone who knows God and His Word, and he will trust in the faithfulness of God.
Are we a trusting people?
III. An Obedient People
And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you (v.4).
The word touching means concerning. The Apostle Paul was taken away from the Thessalonians in a hurry because of the enemies of the gospel so he could not be physically present with them. But he had confidence in the Lord concerning the believers at Thessalonica.
It is so difficult to minister to the believers when we cannot be physically present with them. Take a moment and consider, if one day you could no longer be there with your children to teach and guide them. You cannot find out about their spiritual growth. You cannot answer all their questions, and you cannot be there to clear their doubts. You know the Bible is the Word of God, but how confident are you that they would obey and continue to obey His Word in your absence? Paul’s confidence was not in himself, or the church, or in the system, or in the people, but in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We want Bethel to grow from strength to strength, and from faith to faith. But we are not in control of the result neither can we live forever, for one day we will no longer be there to minister to the people. Only God is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient, and He alone is in control of the result. Therefore, our confidence must be in the Lord!
That ye both do and will do the things which we command you – The Apostle Paul knew that the Thessalonians were faithful believers. Despite the short time he had spent with them, he had witnessed their transformed lives. They embraced the Word of God wholeheartedly and were obedient to the commandments of God. They were doing what they had been commanded and they would continue to do what they had been commanded. Now that was the key; they were not only obeying but they would continue to obey, even in his absence. And how could Paul be so sure? Again, his confidence was in the Lord!
When a person serves only when he is paid, as the late Timothy Tow used to say, “More money, more preach. Less money, less preach. No money, no preach.” What do you call such a person? He is a hireling! When a person does what he does, only in the presence of people; when people are watching he would be actively serving, but when there is no one looking, he would be nowhere to be found. What do you call such a person? He is a men-pleaser! But when a person does what he does, and he continues to persevere in what he is doing, in the absence of everyone, what do you call such a person? He is a man of conviction! That is what we want our people and children to be, not hirelings, not men-pleasers, but men and women of conviction.
And only God can convict the hearts of men, thus Paul prayed, And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ (v.5).
IV. A Guided People
The problem with many of us is that we always focus on the external, not the internal. We follow certain programs, adopt certain routines, go through the motions, and we may be doing what we are doing, but if our hearts are not changed, all is useless! It is good to serve in the ministries, attend the fellowship meetings, but the motivation must come from the heart, not some external routines or programs. The Lord must direct our hearts into the love of God. The object is the love of God! Some theologians spend at length to discuss whether the love of God refers to God’s love for the believers or the believer’s love for God. One theologian aptly said, “It can mean both because God’s love for us and our love for God go hand-in-hand; we love God because He first loved us, and because of that, the love of God has already been shed abroad in our hearts at the point of our salvation. God loves us (there is no question about that), and the more we understand His love for us, the more we would love Him.” The word direct means to make straight, be freed from obstacles and hindrances so that our hearts can be focused on the love of God, to love Him more and more.
We need God to direct our hearts because there would be hindrances and distractions.
- Indeed, it is hard to love your husband or your wife after he or she has been unfaithful in the marriage.
- It is hard to forgive the person who has wrongfully accused or persecuted you.
- It is hard to serve the Lord in the midst of adversities and discouragements, or when everyone is walking away from the ministry.
- It is hard to evangelise to the unbeliever who rejects, mocks and scoffs at you.
We know that our hearts must be committed to do all these things, e.g. love, forgive, serve and evangelise. But there are so many obstacles and hindrances, like bitterness, anger and hatred that will crowd into our hearts. How can our hearts be motivated? The only way is to direct our hearts away from all these distractions, and only God can do that, so we must pray. Instead of allowing our hearts to be consumed by sins and other distractions, we let our hearts be consumed by the love of God. When we consider the love of our Lord Jesus Christ; He left heaven’s glory to come into the world, and live as a man because of us. He was crucified on the cross where He bore all our sins; He suffered, shed His precious blood, and died at Calvary’s cross to save us from eternal damnation. That was how much He loved us.
The more we understand how much Christ loves us, the more we would love Him, and the more we love Him, the more we would want to live for His glory. That is why all the programs and activities in the church are resources to help us to love the Lord with all our hearts, and when we love the Lord with all our hearts, we will obey all the other commandments as well.
Finally, the Lord directs your heart into the patient waiting for Christ – The main theme of First and Second Thessalonians is the second coming of Christ. Our Lord Jesus would come again as the King of kings and the Lord of lords to establish His millennium kingdom whereby the believers would rule together with Him for one thousand years on this earth.
Until Christ returns, He wants us to patiently wait for Him. He wants us to endure, be longsuffering and steadfast in the midst of persecutions. To “patiently wait” is not to sit and do nothing, but to serve steadfastly in the midst of adversities. There will be difficult times which we will encounter, and difficult people who will trouble us from time to time as we serve the Lord in this life. Our motivation to persevere and serve faithfully is that the suffering will soon come to an end when Christ returns. And we look forward to that blessed moment!
Are we a prayerful, trusting, obedient and guided people?
A blessed 40th anniversary to you all!
With love in Christ,
Pastor Paul Cheng
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