1 THESSALONIANS 3
4 Outlines
1 Thessalonians 3
HOW TO HELP A HURTING
CHURCH
From time to time we
will hear of churches and pastors that are hurting.
Sometimes churches hurt
because of persecution.
Sometimes they hurt
because of misunderstandings.
Sometimes they hurt because
of sin in the pastor, the members, or both.
Sometimes they hurt
because of physical problems, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, famine etc.
There are times when
other congregations can help those churches that are hurting.
In our text the Apostle
Paul is talking to a church that was hurting because of persecution. In these verses Paul shows us some definite
ways to help hurting groups of believers.
SEND A GOOD MAN - Vss.
1-3
When Paul could forbear
no longer, he made a personal sacrifice to send Timothy to the Thessalonians.
Vs. 1
In verse 2 we find
reference to Timothy who was an excellent man of God. I believe Hallmark Cards
once used the slogan, "When you care to send the best." Paul cared enough to send one of his best
helpers.
The reason Paul sent
Timothy was "That no man should be moved by these afflictions;" Vs. 3
He wanted the
Thessalonians to remain strong during inevitable persecution. Vs. 4
SEEK AN ACCURATE REPORT
- Vss. 5-8
Another reason Paul sent
Timothy was to find out the truth of what was going on. He wanted to know from
a reliable source, just how his "children" were bearing up under
persecution.
Timothy returned with a
good report.
In trying to help other
churches, we must remember not to draw conclusions from the report of one individual
in the church. It is always good to get the "whole story" before
deciding who is right and who is wrong.
SPEAK A THANKFUL PRAYER
- Vss. 9-10
Paul prayed for the
Thessalonians, even though he was not able to go immediately to help them.
His prayers included
thanksgiving a desire to personally to them for the purpose of ministry.
We can intercede for
other churches even when we can do nothing else.
SHARE AN ENCOURAGING
WORD - Vss. 11-13
Paul encouraged the
believers in these verses!
We have more ways to
encourage today than the Apostle Paul did.
We can encourage by way of telephone, letter, tape, and e-mail.
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Thessalonians 3:1-3
THE PASTOR
Timothy was an associate of the Apostle Paul He was a young
pastor whom Paul would send to various churches for special reasons. Paul talks about Timothy is
these verses, and shows us some of the qualities that pastors should still show
today.
HIS POSITION
Brother in
Christ
Servant
(minister) of God
HIS PARTNERSHIP
Paul calls him
a fellow laborer. He was a fellow
laborer of Paul, but
also a fellow laborer with the people he served. Today's pastor is a
fellow laborer with other pastors, but also a fellow laborer
with his
congregation in the mission of spreading the Gospel.
HIS PURPOSE
Timothy was to
establish and comfort the Thessalonians so that they
would not be moved by the afflictions which they faced. The
pastor is
to establish and comfort the saints today so they will stand
firm under
duress.
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1 Thessalonians 3:1-10
FAITH FACTOR
There is a show currently on television called
"Fear Factor". I only watched
part of it once. Evidently the idea of
the show is to measure how much bravery a person has and at one point fear
takes over. In our text, Paul is not
measuring bravery, but he is measuring the faith of the Thessalonians.
The Apostle Paul once spent about 3 weeks establishing
a church in a city called Thessalonica.
After three weeks he was run out of town by persecution. Acts 17:1-10
Because he loved the new Thessalonian
Christians, and knowing of the persecution that they would receive about their
faith, Paul dispatched young Pastor Timothy to Thessalonica to check on the new
church. We have the story of Timothy's
visit in
1 Thessalonians 3. And in talking about Timothy's visit, we find
that Paul's greatest concern was over the faith of the Thessalonians. The word faith is mentioned five times, and
we learn that:
FAITH IS TO BE ENCOURAGED - Vss. 1-4
Timothy was dispatched to encourage the believers in
their newfound faith.
FAITH IS TO BE EVALUATED - Vs. 5
Paul realized that because of the tough times that the
Thessalonians were facing, it would be easier for Satan to come in and rob them
of their faith.
So, Paul wanted to make sure that the faith of the
Thessalonians was still strong.
God has appointed church leaders, particularly pastors
and elders, with the duty of watching you faith. They aren't to judge your ministry, only the
Lord can do that, but they should check to make sure your faith is strong, and
then help strengthen that faith.
Proverbs 27:23, Hebrews
FAITH IS TO BE EXPRESSED - Vs. 6
Timothy brought good news back to Paul. In spite of the persecution and hardship
being dished out by Satan, the Thessalonians were strong in their faith. And not only were they strong in faith but in
love as well. And they also had a fond
appreciation for their mentor, the Apostle Paul. Faith should show.
We should certainly express our faith verbally. Romans
12:9-10, Psalm 107:2
But our faith must go deeper than talk. People need to see that what we are saying is
real in our lives.
People need to see us leaning on God alone, when we
face the trials and troubles of life.
People need to see us trusting God for the strength to
obey Him.
Think about this.
We will only be obedient to God if we believe Him!
We will only be obedient to God when we have faith
that He will give us the strength to do as He says.
FAITH IS TO BE ENCOURAGING - Vs. 7
Have you ever tried to comfort somebody and ended up
being comforted yourself? Some people
have so much faith during their tough times, that they encourage others.
The Apostle Paul was having his own problems with
affliction and persecution. And when He
heard about the faith of the Thessalonians, he was encouraged.
There are certainly examples in Scripture of people
who encouraged others. When David was
running from King Saul, Saul's son, Jonathan went out of his way to encourage
David.
1 Samuel
When the Apostle Paul was a prisoner headed for
He encouraged them with these words found in Acts
27:25
Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I
believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.
FAITH IS TO BE ENLARGED - Vs. 10
Paul prayed that he
might have another opportunity to visit the Thessalonians and help to increase
their faith. Faith is something that
should grow in our lives as we mature in the things of Christ.
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1 Thessalonians 3:1-9
A GOOD REPRESENTATIVE
A Good Representative Is:
A MAN OF GOOD CHARACTER - Vss. 1-2
A MAN WITH A COMMISSION - Vss. 2b-5
A MAN WHO CAN DRAW CONCLUSIONS - Vs. 6
A MAN WHO CAN BRING COMFORT - Vss. 7-8
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