Well, good evening folks, as has been mentioned, my name is Alistair, the privilege of being the assistant pastor here at Brunsfield and this evening it is my joy to be leading us through the first installment of 2nd Thessalonians.
I have had a wonderful week in this text and I hope that as we study it together, you will be blessed as well.
Now, according to the World Health Organization, an organization we've got to know a little bit more over the last few years, the official definition of health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.
Now, maybe when you heard that, you thought, yeah, that's not me at all.
Health isn't always easy to gauge, is it?
And by such a broad definition, it's actually really hard and it's really difficult to gauge our own health as people who maybe aren't medically trained.
And so the website Business Insider spoke to doctors and dieticians and asked them what are some of the general signs to indicate someone is in good health.
Here are just a couple of the things they came up with.
Number one, you eat when you're hungry and you stop when you're full.
Number two, you can make it up two flights of stairs and feel pretty good.
Three, you embrace your full range of emotions.
Four, you can wake up without an alarm clock.
And five, you have all the energy to do all the things you want to do.
Now, if you're like me, you look at that list and you laugh.
But joking aside, we can tell, generally speaking, can't we, when our bodies aren't healthy.
We can feel when things aren't right and we see markers of when we need to think about going to the doctor.
There are signs of what a healthy body looks like.
Well, the same is true for the church, which is described in the Bible as the body of Christ, the body of believers.
So while the church is different from a physical body, in many ways, there are some similarities.
The body has many parts that each work in unison to help you walk and talk and go about your day-to-day lives.
Each part has its role to play.
And the same is true for the church, isn't it?
Each member of the global and local body of Christ has their own part to play and their own gifts given to them by God.
And like our bodies, there are signs of what a healthy church looks like.
In our passage this evening, that's what we're coming to.
We see four different signs of a healthy church.
As we go through this passage together, I want us to think about whether this is the kind of local church we are striving to be.
And whether this is the kind of church culture that we are trying to cultivate as individual members of this church.
But before we dive into the specifics of the first five verses of 2 Thessalonians,
we need to take a bit of a step back and think about the context of this book.
So whenever you come to any book of the Bible, we need to ask ourselves at least three questions.
Who wrote the book?
Who was it written to?
And what was the context of the first audience?
So if you have 2 Thessalonians open in front of you, you'll see from verse 1 that the authors of this letter are Paul, Silas and Timothy.
Paul being the main author.
And they're writing this letter to the Christians in Thessalonica, just at the top left of that map on the screen.
This was one of the largest cities in the northern part of modern day Greece, Macedonia at the time.
And we get to know the context of Thessalonica from Acts chapter 17.
Now you don't need to turn there, but I'll read a few verses.
Paul and Silas were there and they had quite a successful time.
Acts 17 verses 2 to 4 say this.
As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue.
And on three Sabbath days, he reasoned with them from the scriptures,
explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead.
This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah, he said.
Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.
So Paul goes into Thessalonica and preaches Jesus in that city for three weeks.
And within three weeks, a Christian community comes together, both Jews and Gentiles.
People from different backgrounds, different worldviews, different cultures, different social classes,
gathered as one community, united in their love for Jesus and their hope in the gospel.
But a group of Jews were furious at the message of Jesus.
And so they formed a mob and Paul with his companions were forced to leave Thessalonica.
But you can take Paul out of Thessalonica, but you can't take the Thessalonians out of his heart.
See, Paul longs to hear how this church is doing.
And so he sends Timothy to them.
We read about that in 1 Thessalonians chapter 3.
Then he sends the letter of 1 Thessalonians, followed shortly after by 2 Thessalonians.
So it was written by Paul.
It was written to the Thessalonians.
But why?
Well, because this church was being attacked on two sides.
One attack was coming from outside.
These Christians were being persecuted by the world around them.
It had become worse since Paul's first letter to them, just potentially as few as a few months earlier.
Now they weren't just being shunned by society.
They weren't just being looked at with suspicion.
The world around them was looking for ways to physically harm them.
The persecution had amped up.
Paul saw a glimpse of that himself in Acts 17, but it had only gotten worse.
So that's one attack against them.
But the second war front that they had was more subtle, but more dangerous.
And it was coming from within.
There were people in this church who were teaching lies about the second coming of Jesus
and the timing of when and how it would all happen.
These false teachers were making people doubt the truth,
casting doubt on Paul's teaching and contradicting what he said.
And so this whole letter is from the Apostle Paul, who loves these people dearly.
And he's writing to encourage them, to remind them of truth,
and to spur them on to continue growing in light of the return of Jesus Christ, their Lord and Savior.
So that's the letter as a whole.
Why then does Paul start with four signs of a healthy church?
Well, he is encouraging them that this is already happening amongst them,
and he's helping them see that God is at work in their lives,
even in all the difficulties they face.
And so from these verses, we'll see what a healthy church looks like,
and in turn, we should see the kind of church we should be striving to be at Brunsfield Evangelical.
So the first mark of a healthy church is growing faith.
Do you see that in verses one to three?
Growing faith.
Now Thessalonica was a strategically important city for the Roman Empire.
It had a port on the Aegean Sea, and it was located on the Ignatian Road,
a road that stretched just under 700 miles,
connecting tons of little cities across the Roman Empire.
So thousands, if not tens of thousands of sailors, travelers, immigrants,
were making their way in and out of Thessalonica on a regular basis.
Therefore, Thessalonica was a strategic place for gospel growth.
And I think Paul and Silas and Timothy knew that if the gospel took root in that city,
the potential for gospel growth would be amazing.
And so Acts 17 happened.
But then we turn to Paul's second letter to this church,
and look how it begins with me in verse one.
Paul, Silas, and Timothy,
to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now we can often skip over these initial verses of New Testament letters,
but Paul starts by focusing on God.
He's highlighting their connection as fellow believers who all have the shared privilege of calling God their Father.
And he sends them a greeting with grace and peace.
Grace given by God.
That grace results in their relationship with God through Jesus,
and peace is a result of that grace.
Peace with God.
This means that all Christians have been granted access into the family of God,
his church.
And as a family,
we have one Father.
The one who loves us,
who brings us together,
and encourages us to gather with one another and worship Jesus.
Now if we miss this point,
that the whole focus of this letter is God,
and Jesus,
and the gospel,
then we miss the whole letter.
Because this is the foundation.
This is the wonderful union between God and his people through Jesus Christ.
That is the focus.
And from there,
Paul goes on to encourage the church,
doesn't he?
In verse 3,
read that with me.
We ought always to thank God for you,
brothers and sisters,
and rightly so,
because your faith is growing more and more.
Now at first glance,
it seems that Paul is saying
that he feels obliged to give thanks for the Thessalonians.
But you get a sense that
after all Paul has seen,
he just can't help but thank God for them.
It's like he's saying,
I've heard the stories of the oppression you face.
I know the things you go through every single day,
and I cannot help but thank God
because you are growing every single day.
Imagine what an encouragement that would be to this church.
Constantly coming under fire,
being persecuted left, right and centre,
probably wrestling with their doubts,
maybe even thinking,
is this really worth it?
With temptations around every corner,
constant pressures,
doubting whether they could carry on,
Paul says,
we thank God because despite all of that,
you are continuing to grow.
And the growth isn't small either.
They aren't like a flower that you've planted in the spring
and you're unsure whether it's actually growing or not.
Something often grows so slow
that maybe if you're like me,
you're either googling whether you've killed it
or you're taking pictures to see
if it's actually growing at all.
But the ESV translates verse 3,
it translates it a little bit better
and says that the church's faith is growing abundantly.
Their growth is like that of a little child.
One day it's born tiny and defenceless.
It can do nothing by itself.
And yet within the blink of an eye,
that wee boy or wee girl is running around like mad.
Come into church after a Sunday morning service
and you'll see kids running around playing together.
It's wonderful to see and it's crazy
because some of them weren't even born
when we first came to this church five years ago.
And now they're proper little children.
That's like the faith of these Thessalonians.
Despite their circumstances,
they were growing in their faith.
And Paul is recognizing that God is at work
in the lives of these Christians.
Their growth isn't down to Paul.
It isn't down to anything that he has done specially,
but it is down to God and his work.
One mark of a healthy church
is the growing of their faith.
Can we say that about our church?
Can we say that about ourselves as individuals?
It's often really hard to see growth in the moment.
But I would encourage each of you
to think this evening when you get home,
look back over the last three years of your lives.
Do you notice a difference in your knowledge of God?
In your love for him?
In your trust and dependence on him every single day?
Our desire as Christians should be to grow,
to become more like Jesus every day.
That is the work of the Spirit in our lives.
But there are also things that we can do
to help grow our faith.
We can do simple things like reading our Bibles every day.
Actually wrestling with the text,
not just treating it like a tick box exercise
or the daily reading plan done for the day.
Reading God's word and trying to dive deep
and understand more of what he wants to communicate to us.
And marvel at the creator we have and how good he is.
We can gather with our brothers and sisters at church,
yes, on Sunday, but also throughout the week
to read the Bible together and encourage one another.
We can read good Christian materials
that help us grow in our knowledge of God and the Bible.
Now let me challenge us as a church and as individuals.
Are we taking steps of faith?
Trusting in God that he will provide everything we need?
Are we growing in our faith or are we trusting in ourselves?
Relying on God and trusting in his provision on a daily basis
will help grow our faith.
Now these are practical things that we can do to grow our faith,
but the primary way our faith grows
is that we run to God in utter dependence
and ask for him to constantly do a work in our lives.
Our prayers should be that Jesus becomes more precious to us day by day
and that we grow in his likeness
and that the Holy Spirit would transform our hearts.
So the first sign of a healthy church
is that they have growing faith.
The second sign of a healthy church
is increasing love in verse 3.
Increasing love.
Now put yourself in the situation of this church.
Surrounded by danger, attacks coming from outside and within,
where would you find comfort?
Yes, you find comfort in the gospel,
the knowledge that Jesus lived the perfect life,
that he died the death that we deserve on the cross,
and that one day he's coming back.
That is the knowledge that spurs them on and grows their faith.
But they would also want comfort on the day-to-day
as they gather with one another, wouldn't they?
As they express their love for one another in church,
they increase in their love for one another.
Now maybe you've heard it said before
that the church is a hospital for sinners,
not a museum for saints.
When you're ill,
when you have wounds that need tending to,
you go to the hospital,
you go to a doctor,
the people who are medically trained to care for your body.
But where do you go when you're emotionally ruined?
Who are the people you turn to
when you're spiritually struggling?
Who are the people you run to
when you're at your wits end
and you just need comfort?
The answer, I hope,
is the Lord's people.
The church should be
a loving community of believers
who gather around you and care for you
as they point you to Christ.
Look at verse 3.
We ought always to thank God
for you, brothers and sisters,
and rightly so,
because your faith is growing more and more
and the love all of you have
for one another is increasing.
Now this was a church community
who were different from each other,
different backgrounds,
different cultures,
different day-to-day lives.
And yet as they gathered together
to celebrate the Lord,
they grew in their love for one another.
They grew in their care for one another.
Now why is this love
that we have for each other
so vital for the health of a local church?
Well this is what Jesus says about love
in John 13, 34-35.
A new command I give you,
love one another.
As I have loved you,
so you must love one another.
By this everyone will know
that you are my disciples
if you love one another.
Jesus shows us how faith and love work together.
Faith is our response to the gospel,
our response to Jesus' invitation
to become his disciples
and to follow him.
And love is the proof that our faith is real.
Love is faith worked out
in the day-to-day of the Christian life.
Now I don't think it's a coincidence
that so many people have been drawn
to see the good news of Jesus
as beautiful and true
because they've seen disciples
loving one another.
Or they've been recipients
of the sacrificial love of people
born out of their faith in Christ.
An example of this is Rosaria Butterfield.
She's a well-known Christian writer
and speaks a lot about Jesus today.
But she was previously lost
and tangled up in all the things
that this world has to offer.
And the thing that started her journey of faith
was simply that an older Christian couple
invited her round for dinner.
They showed her consistent love
and started reading the Bible
with her after meals
and answering questions.
What changes the lives
of so many broken, hurting people today
as they walk through the doors of churches
and as they walk into homes of Christians?
Well, it's the fact that they receive
a loving, warm welcome
and that they are pointed to the only place
where true and lasting hope is found
in Jesus Christ.
Is that the kind of church that we are?
We are constantly increasing
in our love for one another.
Now, I must say
that a lot of this does happen
and often it goes on behind the scenes.
Sabina and I have personally experienced
the love of this church,
which is one of the reasons
we're finding it so hard
that we're leaving in a couple of months.
When one of the...
We can't become comfortable
where we are in our love.
We need to constantly grow.
We should be striving to increase
our love for one another.
So let me challenge us.
What does this look like
on a Sunday morning?
Are we the people who sit in the pew
expecting to be part of a loving family
but arrive late and leave early?
Or we maybe only come to church
every couple of months
when it's convenient.
Also think about how active you are
in increasing your love
for the whole church.
On a Sunday,
it's so easy to sit in the pew
and do nothing,
speak to no one.
Expect others to come to us
instead of us going to them.
And think about who we speak to on Sundays.
Do we go towards those
who are only like us
or do we go to everyone?
We should be intentionally
approaching people
of different ages and stages
as an expression of our love
for the whole church family.
That is how we grow,
we increase in our love
for one another.
And I think we need to think honestly.
How confident are we
that as a church family,
if someone were in trouble
or if they were stuck
in a situation,
how comfortable would they be
to approach us as a church
and ask for help?
How do we react
to those who come to us
who are struggling in life?
To be a church
that is increasing in love,
we need to pray more
for the people of our church.
Invest time in getting
to know those around us,
having people around for meals,
helping those who struggle,
praying for those who are hurting,
being a shoulder
to cry on on a Sunday
when people are hurting,
being support in times
that are hard
and being a companion
in both good and bad.
All of that will produce in us
a deeper love for one another.
And it will be a witness
to those around us as well
because we're different.
Why else would we all be
in this room tonight?
Different backgrounds,
different cultures,
different languages,
different social classes,
and yet united and bound together
in Jesus
and increasing in love
for one another.
That is the second sign
of a healthy church.
And the third sign
of a healthy church
is perseverance in trials
in verse 4.
Read verse 4 with me.
Therefore,
Paul says,
among God's churches,
we boast about your perseverance
and faith
in all the persecutions
and trials
you are enduring.
So a growing faith
will produce
an increasing love
for those around you
and it will produce
in you
an internal hope
and trust in God
that will help you
stand firm
in the face
of persecutions
and trials.
Paul says
that this church
is an example
of what it means
to persevere
under persecutions
and so he's boasting
about them
to other churches,
using them
as an example,
not boasting
in a negative sense
but giving them credit
where credit is due.
The word used
for persecutions
is quite specific
and it means
that there were people
actively trying
to harm
the Christians.
And the word
for trials
is more general.
It includes
different kinds
of sufferings
and it obviously
includes persecutions
as well.
Now these persecutions
and trials
were producing
in them
more faith
and perseverance.
I remember reading
a few years ago
the story of
Richard Wurmbrand
in a book
called
Tortured for Christ.
If you want a copy
speak to me afterwards.
Richard was a pastor
in Romania
under communist rule.
He was arrested
for preaching
the gospel,
beaten and tortured
for his faith
and yet he refused
to stop preaching
the gospel
to the other prisoners.
So they put him
in isolation
because they couldn't
shut him up.
But even there
prisoners remarked
how he would simply
shout his appeals
for people
to put their trust
in Jesus
from a distance.
Even there
people could hear
him sing songs
of God's goodness
and God's majesty
and they kept
having to change
the prison gods
because they all
wanted to know
more about this
man Jesus.
How could the
Thessalonians
endure such
persecution?
How could
Wurmbrand stand
firm in the face
of torture?
Well they stood
firm because they
viewed their
sufferings in light
of the eternal
hope that they
have in Christ.
Paul knew this
to be true
himself as he
writes in 2
Corinthians 12
9-10
he says
I will boast
all the more
gladly about
my weaknesses
so that Christ's
power may rest
on me.
That is why
for Christ's
sake I delight
in weaknesses
in insults
in hardships
in persecutions
in difficulties
for when I
am weak
then I am
strong.
this is an
attitude that
sees the
persecution and
trials not
simply as
things to
patiently endure
but as
opportunities to
grow in our
trust and love
for Jesus.
One final
example of this
is the
persecution of
the early
church.
In the
second century
killing Christians
had become a
bit of a sport.
A spectacle for
all to see
branding Christians
as criminals to
be hated
but it wasn't
working.
In fact it was
actually having
the opposite
effect of what
Rome wanted.
People weren't
growing in their
hatred for
Christians but
they were joining
them instead.
Here's what
Tertullian an
early church
father said
We are not a
new philosophy
but a divine
revelation.
That's why you
can't just
exterminate us.
The more you
kill us the
more we are.
The blood of
martyrs is the
seed of the
church because
those who see
us die wonder
why we do.
For we die
like the men
you revere not
like slaves or
criminals and
when they find
out they join
us.
This church is
surrounded by a
storm of
persecution but
instead of being
blown away they
are strengthened by
Christ their
anchor who holds
them firm in
him.
Now are we a
church who
perseveres in
trials?
Suffering
persecution and
trials is never
easy.
The Bible is
clear on that.
We don't make
light of
suffering but
how we respond
matters.
We can either
run away from
suffering and
seek to live a
life of peace
and comfort.
a life where
we don't speak
up for or
about Jesus
or we can
see our
trials in
light of
eternity and
use them to
help us grow
in Christ
likeness.
We may not
be suffering
the blows of
persecution like
other of our
brothers and
sisters are
around the
world but we
are suffering.
we are facing
trials nonetheless
and in those
trials in
whatever form
they come we
must stand firm
in our faith.
See our
trials from an
eternal perspective
and remember that
we have an
anchor and a
hope that is
safe and
secure and his
name is Jesus.
a healthy
church perseveres
in trials.
And the
final sign of
a healthy
church is that
they are counted
worthy in
verse 5.
Read verse 5
with me.
All this Paul
says is evidence
that God's
judgment is
right and as a
result you will
be counted worthy
of the kingdom of
God for which you
are suffering.
Now we have
difficulty today
understanding why
God uses
sufferings and
trials and
pain to
accomplish his
greater purposes.
We look at
suffering mostly
from an earthly
perspective rather
than an eternal
one.
But God can
often use pain
and suffering,
trials and
hardships for us
to grow and
to prepare us
for an eternal
glory and to
produce in us
something that is
far more wonderful
than we can see
in this life.
Paul is reminding
this suffering
church that
their suffering
is under the
hand of a
good God and
that it can be
used as a tool
to push them
into further
dependence on
him.
It's not that
their suffering
makes them worthy
of the kingdom
of God, only
Jesus can make
that possible,
but they are
counted worthy
for the kingdom
of God because
they are persevering
in their sufferings
for the name
of Jesus.
All the
sufferings that
these Christians
were enduring
is evidence
to the watching
world that they
live for something
else, that they
live for someone
else and therefore
as they suffer
and endure,
their faith in
Jesus shines all
the brighter.
Ultimately,
Paul is saying
that all the
suffering you're
going through
right now,
all the suffering
that you're
facing because
of your faith
in Jesus is
producing in
you more
faith and
dependence on
Jesus which
will result in
you arriving
in glory and
hearing those
life-giving words
well done,
good and
faithful servant.
It's similar
to what Paul
said to the
Romans in
Romans 5,
3-5.
But we also
glory in our
sufferings because
we know that
suffering produces
perseverance.
Perseverance
character and
character hope
and hope does
not put us to
shame because
God's love has
been poured into
our hearts through
the Holy Spirit
who has been
given to us.
From the moment
we become
Christians, God
begins a work in
us by God the
Spirit of shaping
and molding us to
become more like
Jesus and
oftentimes God
can use suffering
to do that.
every Christian
can be certain
that the
suffering they
are going
through for
their faith is
not meaningless
but it is
producing in
them something
far greater and
preparing them for
the eternal glory
that awaits them
in Jesus.
Friends, as you
go through this
life, endure all
things with the
knowledge that you
have a future that
is secure in
Jesus.
Nothing can take
that away.
That through his
death and his
resurrection you
have been reconciled
to God and that
even the sufferings
of living in a
world that hates
God and hates
his people are
preparing you for
the day where you
will meet him face
to face in the
glorious new
creation.
The sign of a
healthy church is
that they are
counted worthy of
suffering for the
name of Jesus.
Jesus.
I think back to
where we started
off with some
doctors and
dieticians who've
come up with
different signs that
point to the
general health of
an individual.
The Bible, in the
Bible we see signs of
what a healthy church
looks like and that
is a picture we
should be striving
for as a local
church family.
We should be
looking to see
these signs in our
own lives as
individuals too.
Let us strive to
be a church and
a Christian who
is growing in
faith, who is
increasing in
love, who is
persevering in
trials and who
will one day be
counted worthy as
they, as we enter
into eternity with
God our Father.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, we
thank you for this
letter of 2nd
Thessalonians.
Thank you for all
the things that it
will teach us, for
all the challenges
that it will bring.
And Father, I pray
that as we go
through this series
that you would be
lifted up, that you
would get all the
glory and that it
would help us to be
better disciples and
a better church that
constantly points
people to you.
Jesus, would you
help our faith grow?
Would you help us
love one another more?
Would you help us
persevere in trials?
And would you give
us hope, certain
definite hope, that
on that day we will
see you and we will
be counted as worthy
because you have kept
us by your
faithfulness.
We pray this for the
upbuilding of your
kingdom and in the name
of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Amen.