The Values of a Healthy Church

January 12, 2025 Preacher: Luis A. Cardenas Series: The Prayers of Paul

Topic: English Passage: 1 Thessalonians 1-5

This morning, we find ourselves looking at the letter of the Apostle Paul to the church in the city of Thessalonica, and our focus, as in weeks prior, is going to be the prayers found in the letter.

Seeing the prayers of Paul is one of the ways we can see what mattered most to him, and it helps us to measure Paul’s values against our own.

Your prayer is an expression of your priorities, but it’s not the only expression. Your priorities are seen in your prayers, but they are also seen in what you pursue, and in what you practice, and in what you praise.

This morning, I want us to see the prayers of Paul, and I want you to think about whether or not the things he highlights show up in your own life and in the lives of people around you. And think about what kind of emphasis your life places on these things.

Do you pray for the same kinds of things Paul prays for? Do you prioritize them? Do you seek to put them into practice? Do you pursue them? Do you praise God for the same things? Do you praise others when you see these things in them?

Let’s begin by reading Paul’s opening prayer, and that will lead us to begin our list of attributes. Look with at First Thessalonians chapter 1, verse 2. First Thessalonians chapter 1, verse 2.

Paul is expressing the thanks he gives to God, and, at the same time, he is praising and encouraging the Thessalonians in these attributes.

First Thessalonians 1:2—We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, [3] remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 3 gives us three attributes to start our list with. Here is what Paul knows to be in the Thessalonian church, and so he thanks God for it, and he encourages the church in it. This is what Paul values.

He values the work of faith, number 1. Number 2, he values the labor of love. And number 3, he values the steadfastness of hope. The work of faith, the labor of love, and the steadfastness of hope.

They all follow the same pattern. The first word is what Paul saw in the church, and the second word is what motivated what he saw.

So, first of all, this was a church that worked. The Greek word simply points to activity. There was action taking place. And this work was a result, or an expression, of their faith. Paul doesn’t unpack with any specifics for now, but there’s enough there for us to examine our own lives.

Obviously, all of us do something during the day. We get things done at home and at school and at work. We do things throughout the day. As a church, you can see the church calendar and know that there is some activity taking place.

But the question is: Is our activity an expression of our faith? Are the things we do flowing from our faith in Jesus Christ?

Paul isn’t pleased with a busy church or a busy Christian. He thanks God for seeing a people moved by their faith. Being moved by faith doesn’t mean we don’t do secular, or non-religious things, but it should that everything we do is affected by that faith.

To the Corinthians, Paul said, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” That’s 1 Corinthians 10:31. To the Romans, in chapter 14, he said, “Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” What he meant by that was that if you do something that you are not convinced God would please God or would be allowed by God, then that’s sin.

So, in all the activity of your life, and in all the activity of your family, does it flow from faith? As you plan birthday parties and baby showers, as you sign up for sports teams and music lessons, as you decide what to do on a Saturday, does that flow from faith?

As a church, we need to make sure that the things on our calendar don’t just come from tradition, or because it might make people feel better. We need to do what we do, as an expression of our faith.

And if our lives look no different than our unbelieving neighbors, then what difference has our faith made? We might say we have faith, but there are no accompanying works. There’s no faith-filled action. And according to James, that means it’s not real faith at all. We want to see and to pursue a work of faith.

Secondly, we should value a labor of love. The word “labor” speaks of an intensity. It’s connected to the word “trouble.” True, biblical, Christlike love is not easy. Jesus showed us that when He washed feet, and then, more significantly, when He died on the cross to bear the judgment of God for sinners.

We can say we love others, but how does that manifest itself through labor, through difficulty. If I only serve you when it’s convenient for me, when it’s easy for me, that’s not a pure expression of love.

Guys, if we are going to love our wives, we need to embrace pain and difficulty. We need to be ready to sacrifice something.

If we are going to love our neighbors, and our children, and our brothers in the Lord, the way Christ intended, it’s going to cost us something. It’s going to be a labor. Are you willing to love someone even when it costs you a nap, or a meal, or a football game?

As parents, when you see your children sacrifice something for the sake of someone else, praise them for that. Elevate that. That is an expression of the love of Christ.

The love of the world is sentimental and emotional. The love of Christ is a labor, but that’s what makes it beautiful. That’s what Paul notices and praises God for. That’s what brings true blessing.

Number three, Paul values the steadfastness of hope. Steadfastness is not a common word for us. A good synonym here would be endurance. Some Bible translation use the word “patience,” but I don’t think that’s strong enough.

The Greek word here is a compound word. It comes from a verb that mean to remain under. The idea is someone being under a burden and enduring. So, it’s not just waiting for something to happen. It’s a perseverance until something happens. And Paul says that this steadfastness is a result of their hope.

We don’t naturally like pain. But we are willing to endure pain if we value something enough. A woman is willing to endure the pain of pregnancy and childbirth because of the joy of bringing a child into this world. Some people are willing to endure additional years of education for a better career. Some people endure a specific diet or exercise program because they want certain results.

Are you and I willing to endure pain and suffering, knowing that we have the hope of heaven? Jesus said that there will be many who come to Christ with joy, but when difficulty comes, they walk away and bear no fruit. There is no endurance because there was no true salvation.

And this brings us to a fourth value we should have. Number 4, we should value the certainty of salvation. The certainty of salvation.

This is what Paul describes in verse 4. Seeing their faith and love and hope, Paul expresses his confidence in their salvation. This confidence also comes from knowing that he had taken to them the true gospel message.

Look at verse 4—For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you. We know it.

Don’t you want to be able to say the same thing about yourself and about others? How can you say that? How can you have this level of assurance?

It’s a joy to see someone profess faith. It’s a joy to see someone enter the waters of baptism and be joined to the church. But that’s not the end. And that profession of faith is not the final confirmation. Besides professing faith, affirmation comes from doctrinal truth and from a pursuit of righteousness. We aren’t earning salvation, but we are gaining an assurance that it’s real.

Second Peter 1:10 says: Be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election. And in that instance, he says we do it by practicing the qualities listed in 2 Peter 1. We confirm our own salvation by practicing these things, and we help confirm the salvation of others by encouraging them in the same things. We pursue the work of faith and the labor of love and the steadfastness of hope.

In verse 5, Paul talks about how he brought them the true message and modeled love and righteousness for them. As a result, theses people were transformed. And there was more evidence of their faith, which gives us two more values to pursue and to encourage in others.

Value number 5 is the reception of truth. Value number 6 is the acceptance of suffering. The work of faith, the labor of love, the steadfastness of hope, the certainty of salvation, and now, the reception of truth, and the acceptance of suffering.

Look at verse 6—And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

Here is a group of people who received the truth of God and were prepared to suffer for it. Verse 9 says they turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, [10] and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

They turned to the truth and they placed their faith and their hope in the salvation of Jesus Christ. Jesus is coming again, and their lives proved that they believed it.

Jump over with me to chapter 2 of the letter, verse 13. Paul continues discussing this as he prays for them. First Thessalonians 2:13.—And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

This is what mattered to Paul. He didn’t go into Thessalonica trying to bring social reform. He wasn’t simply pleased that they were hospitable to him. He went into the city seeking to see people converted to the truth.

And this is what we need to prioritize as well. The blessing of God here in Pico Rivera or in Whittier or in Montebello, or in Downey, or in whatever city you live, is not found reducing homelessness, or in reducing crime, or in increasing literacy, or in increasing small businesses. Those may be temporary blessings, but the truest blessing of God will come when people hear and receive the truth of Jesus Christ. That’s what we need to prioritize. That’s what matters most. That is fundamental.

This is the mindset we have to have when we see the news about wars and fires and health crises. Yes, we want to see things get better. But we always need to remember that people need to receive the truth.

As a parent, this is what matters more than your child’s health and education. This matters more than sports and music. Have you given them the truth of Jesus Christ?

We want our kids to have fun. Amen. We want them to make social connections here at church. But all of that is intended to serve a greater purpose—that they will come to genuine faith.

And that’s the same heart we should have for our neighbors, and for our unbelieving family members. We want them to receive the word of God.

Paul says to Timothy that the church is the pillar and support of the truth. We are here to proclaim and defend the truth so that people will be joined to the family of God in worship and righteousness.

Does your life demonstrate that that’s what matters? Does your schedule show that that’s what you value? Is your joy tied to seeing others come to faith and then grow in the faith?

The evidences of salvation that Paul saw in the Thessalonians is the values he’s mentioning and encouraging them to continue in.

Value number 6 is the acceptance of suffering, and Paul goes back to it in chapter 2, verse 14. It says this—For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, [15] who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind.

That final phrase in verse 15 is significant. To oppose the gospel message is to displease God and oppose mankind. When someone opposes the gospel of Jesus Christ, they oppose mankind. You cannot be a true humanitarian and reject the gospel of Jesus Christ.

But that’s the pattern of this world. This world is blinded by, and enslaved to, Satan. So, they pursue all kinds of things, but reject what matters most. And in doing that, they will reject us as well.

The world will never come to love Christ. We need to understand that. And we need to be ready to face the consequences. We need to be ready to suffer. We need to be ready in small ways and in big ways. We need to be ready to rejoice at the privilege of suffering for Jesus Christ, and we need to hold up examples of faithful suffering before our children and praise it.

That’s what we see in Hebrews 10, when the author praises the people saying, “You had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.

Christians in that time had been jailed for the faith. But rather than separate from the prisoners in fear, the believers embraced the shame and the pain. There were united.

Along those lines, we see a seventh value as we continue in Paul’s prayers. I’m going to call this the joy of unity. The joy of unity.

For Paul, a newly converted people was not just another item to put on his resumé. He loved these people. In chapter 2, verse 17, he says he was “torn away” from them. The Greek word was used for a child left orphaned when his parents died. It was a profound grief for Paul to have to leave this church because of the persecution.

He loved them. He says he wanted to see them face to face, but he couldn’t go back.

In chapter 3, he talks about sending Timothy so that he could get an update about them and encourage them in the midst of their afflictions. And it was a joy for him to hear Timothy’s report.

Jump with me to chapter of the letter, verse 9. Again, we’re looking at Paul’s prayers, but we’re seeing his heart. He is overjoyed with these people.

First Thessalonians 3:9—For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, [10] as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?

He’s saying: I love you guys. I’m so glad to hear you’re doing well. I praise God for that. I give thanks for that. And I want to see you in person. I want to minister to you for your good.

Do you feel like that about the people in your church? Do you long to be here? Do you enjoy their presence? Do you give yourself to minister to them?

One way to answer that is to think about what it’s like to miss church for a season. What happens when you get sick or need to leave town? What happens if you miss a couple weeks? Does it matter to you? Do you feel an ache in that?

Our consumer-centered culture says it doesn’t have to matter. As long as you can have some kind of generic connection, you're good. So, get the emails and watch online, or listen online, and that’s enough.

But that is far from what God intended church to be. The New Testament describes us as a family. There should be hugs. There should be tears. There should be a longing when we aren’t together.

And so, Paul prays to be reunited with these people for their good. Look at verse 11—Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, [12] and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, [13] so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

In praying for an earthly reunion, Paul remembers and points to the heavenly reunion. He wants them to keep growing in love and holiness, and he knows that one day they will all be perfected in that.

And this brings me to a final value we see in Paul. It’s an expression of the hope he has. Value number 8 is the confidence of glorification. The confidence of glorification.

In all of Paul’s ministry he always had an eye to the end when all of God’s people would be blameless before Christ. That’s what he wanted to see them grow toward, and that was the confidence he had.

It’s the same confidence Paul expresses in his final pray of the letter. Chapter 4 gives instructions about sexual purity and love. Chapter 5 talks about being patient with one another. He knew the church had its shortcomings. But he knew that one day those would all be erased.

And so this is Paul’s final prayer in the letter. First Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 23. He is praying for something he knows will come to pass. This was his confidence.

First Thessalonians 5:23—Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. [24] He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

That’s the kind of confidence we need to live with. There are so many evidences of our weakness. And we see the weaknesses in other as well. But God is compassionate and faithful. Jesus will finish what He started.

That’s what the word “glorification” means. Our bodies will be made new. Our spirits will be made perfect. And even this earth will be remade. Jesus will have a complete victory over sin and death and Satan. And so, in the confidence of that, we minister in His name, and live for His glory.

Would the people closest to you say that you live with that confidence? Do our kids know that confidence?

We follow a Person and a message that the world rejects. We are told that our faith is misguided and meaningless and empty. But that’s not what Jesus says. He will come back for us. He will complete what He began. And in that hope, we persevere, we endure, and we show the world our faith, our hope, our love, our joy, and our willingness to suffer.

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