‘I was encouraged about you because of your faith’
[1 Thessalonians 3:1-7]
Have you ever felt the limits of patience? Therefore, have you ever prayed to God, 'God, how long should I endure this affliction?' The longer and worse the pain and adversity we have, the more we feel the limits of patience. At that time, we ask God "How long?" and cry out to God. In Scripture Psalm 119, the psalmist did so. Even though he put his hope in God’s word and longed for God’s salvation (v. 81), there was no answer from God. So he prayed to God, “My eyes fail, looking for your promise; I say, "When will you comfort me?”
This is what Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 3:7 to the Thessalonian church saints: “Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith.” I would like to think about Paul who was encouraged by the Thessalonian church saints in three ways under the title ‘I was encouraged about you because of your faith’.
First, Paul could endure it no longer.
Look at 1 Thessalonians 3:1, 5: “Therefore when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone, … For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain.” What would your heart be if you knew that your beloved family who is far away was in great difficulty and hardship? Wouldn’t you be anxious and worry? And would you not try to go see him/her? Earlier this year, my church elder Yoon was driving with me all the way to Sierra Vista, Arizona because he was concerned about the health of my father-in-law who was sick. We drove about 9 hours and went straight to a Sierra Vista hospital where my father-in-law was with his wife. When we arrived at the hospital around 2 am, we saw both of my parents-in-law sleeping. So we prayed silently and went to a motel near by and slept there. Next day in the morning, we visited the hospital again and worshiped God together. After we drove all the back to California and stopped by at a California hospital where one of our church members was in Intensive Care Unit due to big car accident. Why did we do that? Wasn’t it because we were concerned about both of them?
In 1 Thessalonians 3:1 and 5, Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Thessalonian church saints and said “when we could endure it no longer” (v. 1) and “when I could endure it no longer’ (v. 5). In other words, Paul was unable to endure any longer when he thought about the Thessalonian church saints (Park). HE could no longer wait and endure. What was the reason? Why couldn’t Paul endure any longer when he thought about the Thessalonian church saints? The reason is because Paul wanted to know their faith (v. 5). The reason why Paul wanted to know their faith was because they were suffering affliction (v. 4). That was why Paul was concerned about them (v. 5). The concern was that Satan might tempted them when they were afflicted, and made Paul’s and his co-workers’ labor to be vain (v. 5). Don’t you have this kind of concern as well? For example, won’t you be very concern when a person whom you reached out and shared the gospel and he started believing in Jesus Christ but decided not to go to church anymore because he was tempted by Satan when he was suffering and affliction for long time? Will you not hope and pray that he will endure the suffering and affliction faithfully without leaving the church? What would your heart be if he couldn’t overcome suffering and affliction and fall into temptation, left the faith and left the church? Won’t you be very concerned that all your labor will be in vain?
When we look at Judges 10:16, we can see the glimpse of God's unbearable heart toward the Israelites: “Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the LORD. And he could bear Israel's misery no longer.” The reason God had an unbearable heart toward the Israelites was because He saw their misery and their suffering (v. 16). Then why were they suffering in misery? It was because the Israelites served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines and because they forsook the LORD and no longer served him (v. 6). So God because angry with them and sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites (v. 7). So The Philistines and the Ammonites afflicted the Israelites for 18 years (v. 8). “The sons of Ammon crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was greatly distressed” (v. 9). Because of this terrible affliction, the Israelites cried out to God, and they confessed to God that they had forsaken God and served the Baals (vv. 10, 15). And they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord (v.16). At that time, God could bear the misery of Israel no longer (v. 16). God could no longer see the suffering of the Israelites. God's heart toward the suffering Israelites was no longer bearable. So God raised up the Jephthah the Gileadite (11:1) and delivered the Israelites from the sons of Ammon (v. 32).
Our God's heart toward us is unbearable. God could no longer see that we were perishing forever. Therefore, with an unbearable heart, God sent His begotten Son Jesus to this world and eventually to die on the cross in order to deliver us from eternal destruction. And when His Son Jesus cried on the cross "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mt. 27:46; Mk. 15:34), He endured, even though He had heard. Heavenly Father was longsuffering (Exod. 34:6). Why did He do it? The reason is that God could’t see us forever destroyed. That was why in order to save us and give us eternal life, God gave His only Son Jesus to die on the cross. God loves us so much (Jn. 3:16) that He couldn’t bear to see that we were destroyed forever even though He could bear to see His one and only Son Jesus to die on the cross. We who have received this love of God, what should we do? We must love one soul with the unbearable heart of Heavenly Father. And we must preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to that one soul in the love of God. I want this to be our prayer topic: "Heavenly Father, give me Your unbearable heart. Father, grant me the heart of Jesus Christ "(Phil. 1:8).
Second, Paul sent Timothy.
What would you do if you knew that your beloved family member who is far away was in great difficulty and hardship? Would you not only pray to God for him, but also try to go and see him anyway you can? What is the reason? Isn’t it that you try to help him and encourage him to endure the difficulties and hardship to overcome? But what if you try to go and see him but you cannot? Then won’t you find someone else who can go for you? Who will you send instead of you? Obviously you will not send anybody. Rather, you will send someone whom you trust.
Look at 1 Thessalonians 3:2 – “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.” Here, we see that Paul sent his spiritual son Timothy instead to the Thessalonian church saints. It was because out of intense longing Paul wanted to go to them so he tried again and again but Satan stopped him (2:17-18). So Paul sent Timothy, “our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ” (3:2). What was the purpose? Why did Paul send Timothy to the Thessalonian church? Look at 1 Thessalonians 3:2b-3: “… to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this.” The purpose was to strengthen and encourage the Thessalonian church saints as to their faith so that no one would be disturbed by the afflictions. Here, the word ‘disturbe’ may mean “flattering’ based on the meaning ‘a dog shakes its tail’. So Dr. Park Yun-sun said: ‘When a Christian is suffering, Satan flatters as if a dog shakes its tail, so that he may compromise with sin and walks on a comfortable path. Therefore, the believers need to be careful not to be attracted to the flattery of the devil’ (Park). These afflictions were known to the Thessalonian church saints already because Paul already told them that they were going to suffer affliction when he was with them and it actually came to pass (v. 4). So since Paul could endure it no longer, he sent Timothy to them who were going through affliction in order to find out about their faith (v. 5). Then, how did Timothy go to the Thessalonian church and strengthen and encourage the saints in the church? I looked up the answer in 1 Corinthians 4:17. This, of course, is what Paul said to the Corinthian church saints, but I think it also can apply to the Thessalonian church saints as well: “By this I have sent to you Timothy, my beloved and faithful son, in the Lord, For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.” Since Timothy went to the Corinthian church and reminded the saints of Paul’s way of life in Christ Jesus, I think that was what he did also to the Thessalonian church saints. I think that was one of the reason why Paul introduced to them Timothy as “our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ” (1 Thess. 3:2). How did Timothy, God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, strengthen and comfort their faith? Don’t you think he preached the gospel of Christ to them?
We can see the similar case in the Philippian church. In Philippians 2:19-20, this is what Paul wrote to the Philippian church saints: “But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.” Why did Paul want in the Lord to send Timothy to the Philippian church saints? The reason is that Paul wanted to be encouraged by learning their condition (v. 19). In other words, Paul sent Timothy to the Philippian church so that through him he might hear the news about the church saints and be encouraged. So before sending Timothy to the Philippian church saints Paul introduced Timothy to them through this letter of the 1 Thessalonians. In that introduction verse 21 came to my mind: “For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.” What did Paul mean? What did he try to say to the Philippian church saints? He said that everyone sought their own interests and not those of Christ Jesus but Timothy sought the work of Christ Jesus. In addition to that, Paul wanted to send Timothy to the Philippian church saints because Timothy genuinely was concerned for their welfare (v. 20). Here, the word "genuinely" means ‘the father's sincerity to his son’ (Park). That is to say, as the father sincerely concerned about his son’s welfare, Paul told the Philippian church saints that Timothy was the one who was sincerely concern about their welfare.
Who would be genuinely concerned about our welfare? He is our God. God is the One who genuinely and faithfully concerns about our welfare. He who knows that we cannot save ourselves from sin and eternal destruction on our own sent His only begotten Son Jesus, who is the true “Timothy” (meaning: ‘honoring God’) who truly honors Heavenly Father, to die on the cross in order to saved us. And Jesus who died on the cross and resurrected from the dead, sent the Comforter Holy Spirit to us. And the Spirit of God who dwells in us strengthens us and builds our faith on the Rock Jesus Christ with the Word of God in the midst of adversity and tribulation. Therefore, the Holy Spirit makes us to stand firm and comforts us in our afflictions. That Holy Spirit wants to use us tools of comfort. The Lord is sending us now. The Lord is sending us to our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering. We who are sent by the Lord should be obedient to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and go and comfort them and strengthen them who are in distress and adversity. I hope and pray that all of us can be used by the Lord like Timothy.
Third and last, Paul was comforted.
Our God is the God of all comfort. God comforts us in all our afflictions. This comfort of God works in us and makes us to endure any hardship. And God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God (2 Cor. 1:3-7). But we are not comforting others, but God of comfort enables us to comfort them (vv. 3-4). In addition, where sin increases, grace abounds all the more (Rom. 5:20), where the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows (2 Cor. 1:5). And God's comfort enables us to endure suffering (vv. 3-6). We must bear in mind that the suffering and comfort we have is for someone’s comfort and salvation (v. 6). God's people who comforts others are beautiful.
Look at 1 Thessalonians 3:7 – “for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith.” Paul said that in all his distress and affliction he was comforted about the Thessalonian church saints through their faith. Shouldn’t Paul comfort them? Some may think that a pastor should comfort his church members instead of the church members to comfort the pastor. But what we should know is that we should comfort each other (4:18). The relationship between Apostle Paul and the Roman church saints was like that. They comforted each other. They were comforted by each other’s faith (Rom. 1:12). The Roman church saints’ faith was proclaimed through out the whole world (v. 8) and Paul’s faith was serving in his spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son and doing the will of God (vv. 9, 10).
The relationship between the pastor and the saints is not to quarrel and fight. In particular, the relationship between the pastor and the saints isn’t to hurt each other and to give hard time. Rather, the relationship between the pastor and the saints is a relationship that comforts and strengthens each other's faith. How can the saints comfort their pastor? It is possible with their faith (3:7). That was Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church saints, “in our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith” (v.7). How then did Paul learn the faith of the Thessalonian church saints? It was through Timothy whom Paul sent to them and came back to Paul and informed Paul: “But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you” (v. 6). Timothy, a servant of God who preaches the gospel of God, was sent to the Thessalonian church in order to strengthen and encourage the Thessalonian church saints as to their faith so that no one would be disturbed by the afflictions (vv. 2-3). And when he came back to Paul from the Thessalonian church, he brought him good news of their faith and love (v. 6). In other words, Timothy told Paul that the Thessalonian church saints were standing firm in faith in the midst of suffering affliction as well as good news of love for Paul and his co-workers. Here the word "good news" is the same as the word "gospel" in Greek. To Paul, it was that much good news that the Thessalonian church saints were standing firm in their faith and they always thought kindly of Paul and his co-workers. For this reason, Paul was comforted by their faith in all his distress and affliction (v. 7).
When your faith grows, it comforts me. I pray that your faith grows as you diligently read, hear, meditate, and study the Word of God. I cannot help but be thankful, joyful, and comforting when I see you standing firm in your faith, holding on to the Word of God and persevering and overcoming in difficulties and hardships.
Last Friday was my uncle and also our church former visitation pastor Pastor Andrew Kim’s 10th year of deceased. When I think of him, one of the things I cannot forget is that it seemed like he knew his impending death and told me the last words when he was in hospital. Among those words, he asked me to lead his funeral worship service and gave me the Bible verse for me to preach. The Bible verse was Isaiah 40:1 – “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” Pastor Kim wanted me to comfort all those who would attend his funeral service with this Word of God. I was comforted by the God’s glorious presence in that funeral service. May the same glorious God’s presence comfort you as well.