[0:00] For this world that was rejecting them, they loved them. It goes on, we'll see here, love will motivate you to overcome the obstacles. Love will motivate you to overcome these obstacles.
[0:12] He's ripped away by body, but not in heart. I may not physically be there, but my heart is there with you. And he continues to endeavor to be with them face to face, which is a phrase used all throughout the scriptures to mean in their presence.
[0:27] So much that he will send Timothy to them. And his concern, it was not sentimental, but it was concerning their faith. So what is it? It wasn't just, I really like these guys, and I really like the way that one person cooked that one dish, and we just had a good time together.
[0:41] Chapter 3 says it repeatedly over and over what it is. Look with me here. At the end of verse number 2, comfort you concerning your faith. Verse number 6, brought us good tidings of your faith.
[0:53] This is what Timothy went to find out, how their faith is doing. In verse 8, he says, we want you to stand fast. That's an expression about their faith. At the end of verse number 10, which is, we want to come to you to see what we might get help, what we might get perfect concerning your lacking of faith.
[1:09] What do you need here? And it's over and over again, he's saying, I want to come to you. I want to help you because I'm concerned about your faith. And so chapter 4 gives us a description of what walking out their faith should look like as they would grow and they would mature.
[1:27] In so many ways, that would look the same for all of us, but there's also specific areas of life that would need attention. You have a kid that goes off to college, and you're writing them, and you're saying, hey, I want to know, yeah, I know you're healthy.
[1:40] I see that you're running up money on the credit card, and so you're apparently buying food. But what I want to know about is, how is your faith? Because there's some unique challenges that are now, when you're a college student, there's a new believer.
[1:53] That's what Paul was concerned about, is how is their faith? Moving on here, and Pastor Bo, this is why I don't do fill in the blanks, because I can't remember what I've said so far. But if you're filling in your blanks here, and you want to get them all, collect them all, be mindful of the strategy of our enemy.
[2:10] Strategy there. He has it. That's said here in this passage. We better have a plan to overcome obstacles, because Satan has a plan to hinder us. We better have a plan to help new believers, because Satan has a plan to hinder us from helping new believers.
[2:26] And it's not just a scheduling challenge, but it's a spiritual battle. It is a spiritual battle. Satan desires to hinder you.
[2:37] Paul knows what it's like when the Holy Spirit hinders him, and redirects his course. But he has a spiritual discernment where he recognizes the difference between Satan hindering him, and the Holy Spirit leading him, or the evil one restricting him, or the Holy Spirit who is leading him in another direction here.
[2:56] And Paul has no trouble believing that Satan is personal, he's malicious, and he is an active enemy, and he's called the adversary. He has a plan to hinder us in helping it, as we want to help new believers.
[3:09] We sing this as a church. For still our ancient foe does seek to work us woe. His craft and power are great, armed with cruel hate.
[3:20] On earth is not his equal. He has a work that is crafted in a power, where he desires, he being Satan, desires to hinder our following up with new believers.
[3:34] Satan desires to hinder the work of the church. He was there when a couple lied about the offering that they had given. He was there when the widows were murmuring one to another. He was there when they laid their coats at Saul's feet, at the stoning of Stephen.
[3:49] He is present there. Revelations 2 will talk about the strategies that he has against churches. He loves to attack leaders of the churches. 1 Timothy 3 talks about how being lifted up in pride, they'll fall into the condemnation of the devil, and there'll be a snare of the devil as well.
[4:10] We can have meetings on Sunday nights like we just did, family meetings, and we can have strategy sessions, and we can have volunteer meetings, but we must know that our enemy, who is malicious and personal, has a plan to hinder us from following up with new believers.
[4:27] We've got to recognize that. Satan attacks the path. Your next blank there. Satan attacks the path. That word hinder, it speaks about a military term, about the roads, blowing, you know, if they're going to be bringing them through, and I was about to say tanks, but I don't think we have any tanks at this time in history, but as the army is coming, they want to mess up the roads, they want to mess up the bridges where they're coming.
[4:49] He wants to hinder the path. And so Paul says, I want to come, but Satan wants to hinder my path to you. Maybe this is speaking about the decisions that were made to keep him out, the security there that was put upon Jason.
[5:01] There's just many ways in which it happens, but we need at all ways to protect the path. We need to be praying. We need to have a plan. We need to follow through. And then the last point here is, we are to prepare them for the Lord's return.
[5:14] We are to prepare them for the Lord's return. This is the motivating factor for Paul here when it comes to these new believers. Who do you think we would be proud of when Jesus returns, if it's not you?
[5:28] That's what he's telling. Our glory and our joy. We want to see you because we know one day that we will see you, that we will be together with King Jesus. I had this friend, Mr. Wallace, and he was in his 80s, and he drove a 1919 international car.
[5:45] And sometimes we would go to this coffee shop, and he had a spoon that was welded off at the bottom, and he would put it in the coffee, and he would pull it out and talk about how hot it was. I just thought he was the coolest guy in the world.
[5:56] And he would ask people, he'd say, would you like to see my pride and joy? And open up his wallet, and I'd have a picture here, the next slide there, and he would show them. He would say, would you like to see my pride and joy? And he would show people this picture of pride is a pine cleaner, and then that he would show them.
[6:11] He thought that was quite funny. I think it's really funny too. And that pride and joy. So the Apostle Paul says, you know what? When I would open up my wallet, and I would like to show my hope, and joy, and reward, it's you, these new believers.
[6:25] And Paul, he isn't speaking up perfectly here, when he says, there are hope, our joy, and our crown of rejoicing. You are my cause for rejoicing. It's not just unique to this church, but he goes on, and he says it, you know, about other churches, and in 2 Corinthians, that rascally church in 2 Corinthians, he says, acknowledge that we are rejoicing, even as you are also ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.
[6:49] He considers the day that he will be standing in the presence of God with these believers. And it's not about a crown that will be placed upon a glorified head. It's about being in the presence of God with these people.
[7:03] And it's wonderful. He has planted the seed, it's water, it's been harvested, and he has influenced this group of people. And that moment should always be on our mind. 1 Thessalonians 2, 19.
[7:14] For what is our hope, or joy, or crown, or rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, at his coming? You see question marks, these aren't questions, these are statements that are being made to say, if it isn't, if my life isn't going to be spent in helping you, because one day we're going to meet Jesus, then where should I be spending my time?
[7:36] What should matter to me, even in the presence of our Lord Jesus? People should hear that. A new believer should hear that. A new believer should know about the second coming of Christ, even though they just learned about his first coming and the significance.
[7:52] And they should hear it from another believer. And they should hear it not just as a fact, but they ought to hear it as a motivating factor, is that someday you and I will stand before the King of Heaven. And that one that we desire to see face to face, we will get to.
[8:05] That longing that we currently have will be met. And so we must do all that we can to help prepare others for the arrival of our King. Preparing others for the revival of our King.
[8:18] I've tried to speak about discipleship without saying the word discipleship. But preparing people to see our King. That's what we're doing, is preparing them for that great day. It's questionable if anybody in human history, do we owe, as a human, that we owe any more to than the Apostle Paul and the life that he lived and the influence that he would have had going forward.
[8:42] But you know, he doesn't yet get to rejoice in all of that. He has seen a lot of things that have happened, but he hasn't seen the full picture. Someday, a marriage supper of a lamb, at a beam of seat, he will get to see the full picture of how he spent his life for new believers.
[8:59] And those believers went on to spend their life for new believers, and it continued. And he had great anticipation for that day. He looked forward to it. His ambition was to see them, at last, as crowns and trophies that he could put at the feet of Jesus.
[9:14] And so, let us evaluate our heart for new believers. Where do you place upon a new believer in your life? Maybe it's somebody that you've met through church.
[9:25] Maybe it's somebody that you have heard about that's written you, and they say that they're new in their faith. Or maybe it's somebody through work. Or maybe it's somebody that's in your family. Send the book that you're thinking about sending.
[9:37] Go over and have the conversation with them. You've just met somebody that has been delivered from darkness into light, and you now have the opportunity to just share with them so many things.
[9:48] And it ought to be just the highest calling in life. You know, churches fight over all kinds of dumb things. I've heard that churches fight over things. We know that, like, color of carpet and different ways that things can be argued over.
[10:03] How about we become a church that fights over a connection card? How about we fight over when a new believer shows up that they can't hardly get us on their calendar because there's so many other people there.
[10:14] And I think if the Apostle Paul was to do a training session with our church tonight, he would just say, don't you just want it? And Luke chapter number 16 is a parable, and it says it, it's so plain that it almost seems like you've got to read it twice.
[10:29] Is that what it really says? It says, why don't you use your money to make friends for the kingdom? Why don't you use all that you have to make friends for the kingdom? Just give your life so that you can help some other people be ready for that day when the king is going to return.