The Day Rises: ‘Love as Discipleship’

[0:00] Father, we thank you for your word. Thank you that you have shown yourself to us. And we thank you for just this time now to set aside 25 minutes, half an hour to just think about what you’re calling us into, who you’re calling us to be, and how you’re creating us, how you’re renewing us. Because we know that’s what you’re doing um and and what resurrection life looks like as well, and uh and i pray that you would you would help us now lord i pray that you would by your spirit be working in us um and and also through us to each other not just through me i pray you will work through me but i pray that you’d also work through all of us here um.

[0:50] For your glory, in Jesus’ name. Amen. 1 Thessalonians was a very early letter of Paul written to a very young church whom Paul loved dearly. And if you listen to that reading, it’s just so obvious how much he absolutely loves them. He writes to encourage them, and he encourages them a lot. But he also, throughout the letter, addresses some concerns and misunderstandings throughout the letter. So if you remember back to chapter two, which wasn’t last week, and we had camped the week before, it was the week before that, that we looked at chapter two, Paul was correcting a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding that people in Thessalonica might have assumed that Paul was a traveling teacher or a cynic coming into Thessalonica. Traveling teachers and cynics would often kind of go from town to town and teach, but then would look for personal gain. They just get their own thing and then they would leave in the night. And Paul corrects this misunderstanding to the Thessalonians. He says, well, actually, my motive was not for myself. It was to please God. And my method wasn’t to just grab and go. It was to live among you and be known and live life on life.

[2:09] But part of the story that we get in Acts 17, we get the background of this in Acts 17, but we also see it here in chapter 3, is that Paul was then sent away from Thessalonica. He did leave in the night. He was sent away without farewelling them. And now he’s like 500 kilometers away in Athens, no chance of returning. And Paul is burdened by this. He’s absolutely, he’s feeling the weight of it because he wants to be with this church. He loves them so much.

[2:45] Why does he want to be with them? Well, he loves them. He cares deeply for them. But this love for them is not some airy, sentimental, or even dutiful kind of love. He’s not concerned about feelings or what the Thessalonians did for him or think of him, which is often what love is based off these days. But Paul cares more about who they are becoming. He cares about the kind of people that the Thessalonians are becoming. Paul’s love for the Thessalonians is tied to their growth as disciples of the risen Jesus. Paul’s love for the Thessalonians is tied to their growth as disciples of the risen Jesus.

[3:40] In verse 10 of chapter 3, he says, Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again. Why? He says why. And it’s not because the Thessalonians were kind to him that he wants to go back and see them again. And it’s not because they were into the same thing that he wants to go back and see them again. He says, so that we can supply what is lacking in your faith. His love is tied to their growth as disciples of Jesus.

[4:22] And then he says, it’s their faith that encourages him, verse 7. And verse 8, it’s when they’re standing firm in the Lord that he says that, I have life now because you’re standing firm in the Lord. Paul’s love for them is tied to their growth as disciples of Jesus. And that’s actually what Christian love should be. Christian love should be tied to growth as disciples of Jesus C.S. Lewis’s famous definition of love, Love is a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good As far as it can be obtained That’s what C.S. Lewis says A steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good As far as it can be obtained Now, we know, as believers and followers of Jesus, that a person’s ultimate good is to become more and more who they’re created to be. A person’s ultimate good is to become more and more a person who bears the image of Jesus. Bears the image of God both inwardly and outwardly.

[5:45] And that’s essentially what a disciple is.

[5:53] So to love someone is to want and to wish for and to seek their growth as a disciple of Jesus. Among us as a church body, among our gospel communities, within our mission, within our parenting and our workplaces, whatever it is, love is tied to growth as disciples of Jesus. Is that how you think of your love and care for those around you?

[6:24] It’s one thing to love the church It’s one thing to love Soma Blue Mountains, But it’s another thing to love the individual To love the person sitting next to you, And to have a steady wish For that person’s growth as a disciple of Jesus, Is that how you think of brotherly love Or care within your DNA group? I want you to grow in your discipleship to Jesus. I want you to become more like him and in turn become more who you were meant to be, who you created to be, because that’s what it’s about. That’s the ultimate good. Now, I have three points. The gospel is the basis of love, the importance of love known, and three things to be aware of. And we’ll get to those three things. Keep you on your toes. You can have a think about what those three things might be while I swig my water.

[7:32] So the gospel as the basis of love.

[7:36] There have been, Stuart pointed this out to me, or kind of told me about it the other week, that there have been a bunch of studies and books written on the idea that.

[7:48] Almost all of Paul’s themes and theology within his epistles can be traced back to his conversion in Acts 9. And, which I think is, one, is just really cool. But two just makes a lot of sense makes a lot of sense that that story in acts 9 is an incredibly impactful moment we we talk about it and it feels impactful paul experienced it and it changed him So Paul, as a promising Pharisee, approved the death of Christians. He stood there as Stephen was being stoned and approved of it. And then he arrested Christians. And he dragged people, Acts says that he dragged people out of their houses in order to imprison them because they were Christians. And and while he was on the way to damascus so just an another town going completely out of his way in order to go and find more christians in their houses to drag them out and put them into prison the risen jesus appeared to him and the shining light blinding paul and speaking to him and he says saul saul why do you persecute me.

[9:10] And this is such an incredible line that I don’t know if we’ll ever plumb the depths of. And I wonder if Paul plumbed the depths of it, or if he’ll be thinking about it for eternity too. But Paul wasn’t persecuting Jesus. He was persecuting Christians who believed that Jesus was the Messiah. But somehow there’s this crazy interconnectedness between Jesus and his people. So much so that he can say, why are you persecuting me? And I wonder if Paul pictured the last person that he dragged out of their house. And just thought that Jesus this risen Jesus is saying that I was persecuting him with this person.

[10:08] Somehow Jesus is so connected deeply with them that he felt it and because of that Paul’s relationship with the church then becomes different right you look at what he was doing before Acts 9 and then you read this in 1 Thessalonians where he’s just like absolutely pouring out his heart that he wants this church to grow, what happened?

[10:36] And I think it shows, the thing that I’ve been thinking about is it shows that Paul’s love for the church wasn’t just obedience. Because the reason Jesus didn’t stand there and say, go and love the church now. And Paul said, okay, I’ll obey. It’s not just obedience. And it’s also not just a good picture of salvation. He doesn’t just go and love the church to go, oh, I should show the world how Jesus loves us. Although those two things are very true right to love one another is a command second greatest command and also it is a picture of christ’s love and the kingdom of god but it’s more than that paul’s idea now since he saw the risen jesus paul’s idea of what the ultimate good for a person can be has changed surely if the god of heavens if the god of abraham isaac and jacob the god of creation and salvation of this Jesus the promised Messiah who is making all things new is so deeply interconnected with this individual and with these people surely the best good the ultimate good for them is to be connected with him.

[11:50] Surely to love one another, to wish for ultimate good for one another, is to bring people to Jesus so that we can be so connected with him like that. So the gospel doesn’t just tell us to love one another. It doesn’t just lead us to love one another, although it does do those things. But the gospel is also the basis of our love for one another. And here in Thessalonians, Paul pours out his heart to the Thessalonians. That his love is tied to their growth as disciples because he believes that the gospel is good news for them. He believes that the gospel means that they can have a life connected with and in relationship with the risen Jesus, who’s making all things new and is alive now and working in and through them. So his love is tied to their growth as disciples because he believes the gospel is good news for them. The gospel is the basis of love.

[12:55] Having this perspective means for Paul and for us that we shouldn’t be content with people’s stagnancy in the faith. We shouldn’t be content with people’s passive faith, let alone people’s backsliding.

[13:20] And that’s what Paul’s so concerned about Verse 5 shows that very clearly He was afraid that in some way The tempter attempted them Out of the faith, For us to love For us to love As a community following Jesus, Means wanting to see one another Grow in the Lord To become free from the things holding us down The things pulling us away find ourselves in Jesus.

[13:53] The second thing is the importance of love known. Jonathan Edwards was an American Puritan and pastor in the 18th century, a Congregationalist, actually. At the time, in the 18th century, he was a significant mind in theology and a significant Christian leader as well. And he was internationally known and internationally respected and still is by so many, respected for his godliness and his steadfastness, respected for his love, known as a very loving person. But in 1750, his church kicked him out. He was the minister of a congregational church and the congregation voted him out of his position. Why? He loved them He preached exceptionally well Sermons are still read regularly today.

[15:02] He didn’t do anything immoral Why was he kicked out?

[15:08] Tim Keller Who’s done a lot of thinking on Edward’s life Said that The only thing that makes sense Is that Edward’s love for his congregation wasn’t known.

[15:27] He was quite a reserved person, and so he didn’t really share his heart or love the people. He didn’t let his love for the people be known. He might have loved them exceptionally, inwardly, but they didn’t know it. And that changes things. Paul, here in this chapter, is letting the Thessalonians know that he loves them. He’s sharing his heart with them, remember the context so people in Thessalonica are likely being told that Paul is a fraud, being told that Paul is a charlatan who got what he wanted and he left people are probably saying to these new Christians he doesn’t care for you, in fact how stupid that you believe what this Paul guy says he’s left just like all the other ones, now in one sense why would that matter why would it matter that Paul left because Paul came and he brought the gospel he brought the word of life and in chapter 2 it says that the Thessalonians accepted it not as the word of man but as what it truly is the word of God and so if they’ve accepted it and then Paul left what does it matter.

[16:55] But what would that do to the gospel that he preached? What would that do to the truth that he told? Over time it would make it less believable. No matter how convincing his argument was when he was there or how well he presented it, if he just up and left and never spoke to them again then everything, no matter how convincing, would become less believable. So just imagine, I don’t like this exercise, but imagine I up and left. And a week goes by and you go, oh, he’s probably sick. And then a month goes by. And then two months go by. No sign, no word from me. That wouldn’t, it would alter what you think of me, but it wouldn’t just alter what you think of me. It would also alter what you think of the things that I’ve taught. And the things that I’ve led you guys in.

[17:56] Alternatively, if I, by God’s grace and power, love you well, and know you well, and you see that the things I teach aren’t just words, but they’re a lived reality in my own life, then the truth becomes more believable. Truth, truth, Keller says this as well, truth without love can be a power play.

[18:26] This is what the cynics did. So they’re coming in, they’re bringing different aspects of philosophical truth, but they didn’t care one bit about who they were speaking to. They had no love for them, and therefore it was a power play. They were getting what they wanted, they were having the upper hand. Truth without love can be a power play. But from chapter two, Paul shows he’s not playing for power. And so part of his defense to this kind of assumption was to remind the Thessalonians that he does love them. He does love them. Both when he was with them and even now being miles away, he still shares his heart with them because they have to know it. Because they have to… Because knowing it makes the truth more real. Knowing the love makes the truth more real. If they know that Paul really loves them, then Paul’s teaching becomes more real and more palatable. That’s why C.S. Lewis’s definition, a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good, that steady wish doesn’t stay hidden. It becomes visible. It expresses itself. It moves towards people. It pursues their good. Which is also what God did for us And does for us He didn’t just wish that we would be free He didn’t just wish for our ultimate good His love wasn’t just wishing for our ultimate good It became visible, It did all that was necessary.

[19:54] We have to let our love be known In order for our words to mean anything.

[20:01] That’s a lot easier for some people than it is for others I acknowledge that, I will just say though I don’t think letting your love be known Needs to be soppy, Or awkward Paul’s just sharing his heart Life on life, hospitality Being with them, So letting his love be known. Thirdly, three things to be aware of. Do you think about what they might be? Might give you another second. I don’t know.

[20:46] Dave said the gospel should, yeah, definitely. Four things to be aware of. The gospel already talked about that one three things to be aware of the enemy, prayer and the parousia, so the enemy twice in this section twice in this passage from 2.17 to 3.13 Paul refers to the enemy verse 18 we wanted to come to you but Satan blocked our way, he says. And then in verse 5 of chapter 3, he says, I was afraid that in some way the tempter had tempted you and that our labours were in vain. I think it’s really interesting that as Paul speaks about his love for them and shows his love for the church that is tied into their growth as disciples that he is both aware that the enemy is stopping that from happening and alert that the enemy is tempting them away. Because he’s aware that Satan’s main aim is to prevent this exact thing, love tied to growth as disciples of Jesus.

[22:16] He works against love, because love is tied to growth as disciples, and Satan is not for that. So what does Paul do to combat that? Well, often in the face of the enemy’s temptation, it is very easy to stay passive. That is.

[22:42] We We might think Well I’m not giving in to the enemy I’m not giving in to what Satan is Trying to do here I’m not telling this person Not to love Jesus, I’m not being horrible Or aggressive towards them I’m just letting things take their course, Paul didn’t just let things take their course, And neither did Jesus in the wilderness They armed themselves and they keep working in love, So where we are as a church right now We’ve been through a lot of changes Even in the past six months, To do with the church but then also Just within the church body as well. We got a new venue, we’re still working things out, combined gatherings, we’ve got a lot of new faces, we’ve had a lot of shifts in gospel communities, we’ve had a lot of new babies and personal family changes, quite a few new jobs as well within the congregation. Lots of things. Where might the enemy be sneaking in to bring disunity?

[24:04] Don’t be passive when the enemy attacks don’t just let it take its course, fight for love tied to growth as disciples of jesus first thing to be aware of is the enemy, second thing to be aware of is is prayer uh paul prays three times in this in this small letter uh he prays at the start and he prays at the end and then he has this prayer in the middle uh which is it’s really it’s really cool like um literarily really cool he kind of picks up on things that he’s just talked about and then will lead into things that he’s about to go and talk about but um within this prayer two things first he prays against the work of the enemy He prays against the work of the enemy. Verse 11, may our God and Father himself and the Lord Jesus Christ clear the way for us to come to you. It is Satan that’s blocking it, remember. He’s praying against the works of Satan. And in verse 13, may he strengthen your hearts so that you’ll be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father. He’s praying against the tempter, tempting them and ripping them from the faith. Prayer is so important, especially when it comes to spiritual warfare.

[25:31] Secondly, prayer grows love. So we’ve been talking a lot about love.

[25:38] Paul prays that this discipleship love will not just be leader to followers. That’s the problem here. We could see this as, well, Paul’s essentially the minister to the people and he’s loving them. So it should be ministers to the people that loves them. Paul then prays, literally prays that that is not the case. He says, may God increase and more, may God overflow this love among them and among everyone. And this is being read to the whole church, he says in chapter 5.

[26:16] And it’s amidst persecution. He says, love, may they overflow with love towards everyone. It’s radical.

[26:25] He says, just as ours does for you. Prayer grows love. Because as we thought about, God is all about growth as disciples and love is tied to our growth as disciples of Jesus. And the one that kind of connects those, the answer to prayer and the growth in love is the Holy Spirit. Just amazing. So second thing to be aware of is prayer, the power and the importance of prayer.

[26:53] And then the third thing to be aware of, and I’ll finish with this, is the parousia. Parousia is the Greek word for presence. The presence of the Lord when Jesus returns and the kingdom of God fully breaks into the here and now. And in this passage, Paul refers twice to the parousia. Paul refers twice to the presence, being in the presence of Jesus.

[27:24] Chapter 2, verse 19 to 20, and at the end of verse 13, he kind of frames this section with it. And the next chapter, we’ll get into it more. So I won’t say all that much about it right now, because we’ll look at it in chapter 4. But notice, notice though, just how aware he is. How aware he is that Jesus will return.

[27:58] At the end of chapter 2, he says that the Thessalonians are his joy and crown in which he glories at the perusia of Jesus. They are his glory and joy. I think if I was to ask you, what is your glory and joy when Jesus returns?

[28:22] You’d say, Jesus. or like it seems so weird that he goes it’s them it’s those people when jesus returns and we’re finally in jesus’s presence and everything is being made right and the kingdom is fully broken in my glory and joy is these people it seems wild how can he say that well i think it’s because of everything we’ve been talking about. That to love is to point to the God who made us and is renewing us into who we’re made to be. And then to see people living that out at the perusia of Jesus not only fills us with accomplishment and joy and satisfaction, but also affirms our walk with Jesus.

[29:12] Affirms our obedience to Christ ourselves. Are you aware of Jesus’ return? That he is coming back, he will be present. Are you aware of the good news that you are a child of the day? That every morning is another day closer? That we will get to meet the basis of our love and love will become completely known and the enemy will be gone and prayer will be speaking face to face. Paul is aware that he’s aware of the parousia.

[29:54] And it increases his love, love tied to growth as disciples of Jesus. So let’s pray that God will increase and overflow our love for one another. And that we will be a community who longs to see one another blameless and holy in the presence of God. And let’s act on that, empowered by the Spirit. And I’m going to pray. Lord, may you increase and overflow our love for each other and for everyone. And may you strengthen our hearts so that we will be blameless and holy in your presence when Jesus returns. And let us help us to live and prioritize and have an active, steady wish for one another’s growth. As your people becoming more who you’ve called us to be, Amen.