Studiesin

1Thessalonians Presentation 04

Anxiety and JoyChapter 3v1-13

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IntroductionOne of the remarkable changes that has taken place during the lifetime of the more elderly among us, is the way in which the world has become a global village. Not only can we travel around the world in a matter of hours but we can communicate with loved ones almost instantaneously, by phone, email, text and if you use Skype you can see family members as they speak to you.

Communication in Paul’s day was quite different. It could take weeks and sometimes months for news to travel a few undred miles.

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IntroductionA lack of news of the wellbeing loved one’s creates a vacuum of uncertainty which in turn causes the imagination to work overtime so that anxiety levels reach new heights.

Those of you who have awaited news of the birth of a grandchild thousands of miles way or of a teenage child backpacking their way around the world, or of a loved one undergoing serious surgery will know something of the anguish of waiting for news and of trying to keep your imagination in check.

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Dealing With AnxietyBefore asking how Paul dealt with his anxiety, it might be helpful to trace its source. It is clear from the opening verses just how wholehearted and unstinted Paul’s love for the Thessalonians really was. The love which the gospel plants in a man’s heart is the antithesis of self-centredness. This kind of love is costly, and involves pain and hurt. C.S. Lewis writes:

‘To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung, and possibly broken. If you want to be sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one... Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket – safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change!’

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This is where sanctification is proved to be real or counterfeit. We are not asked here about our prayers and earnestness, our spiritual exercises or piety, or our grasp of the doctrines of the faith. What we are asked is:

“Do we give ourselves away, or do we keep ourselves to ourselves?”

Paul gave himself away. If Paul had been indifferent about the Thessalonian’s welfare he would not have been anxious. Love made him vulnerable.

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Dealing With Anxiety

Secondly, Paul’s anxieties were not unfounded. Some of our anxieties have no substance to them, but that was not the case here. This church which Paul had been obliged to leave was undergoing severe persecution [1v6]. Strong and radiant as their witness was, they were passing through a very difficult time. Paul was anxious to help them to interpret their experience. They knew that suffering was a necessary part of Christian experience, but as James Denney points out:

‘It is one thing to know it by being told, and another to know it by experience’.

It is possible to be so engrossed in facing and coping with suffering, that we fail to recognise its significance and purpose. In that situation, a wise and discerning friend may be able to help us recognise what is happening?

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Dealing With Anxiety

Thirdly, Paul’s anxieties are fed by his knowledge of Satan’s working v5. We have already seen that Satan’s great objective is to prevent the spread of God’s kingdom. Paul’s concern expressed in v3 is that the Thessalonians might be unsettled when they hear of the trials that he was experiencing. Imagine Satan whispering in their ear;

“That fellow Paul, whose message you listened to is a disaster, wherever he goes he gets himself beaten up and imprisoned. If he really served the one true God, and if his message was genuine then God would take better care of him.

Perhaps you have been taken in by a charlatan and so you are suffering for nothing.”

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Dealing With Anxiety

Satan knows what buttons to press to distract us and to arrest our growth and limit our fruitfulness. “How could a powerful and loving God permit you to suffer in this way…”Elsewhere Paul writes, “We are not ignorant of Satan’s devices” 2 Cor.2.11. Sadly, that insight is not as apparent today as it once was. If Satan can make us trivialise him, laugh at him, disregard him as having no part to play in how we progress in our Christian lives then he is delighted.

After the battle of Waterloo, a young officer asked the Duke of Wellington for advice on how to be victorious in the field of battle. This was the reply, “Know your enemy”. Do we know what buttons Satan is likely to press?

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Dealing With Anxiety

What did Paul do about his anxiety for the Thessalonian church that made him so unsettled? Surely he prayed! Yes, but he did that but he did more than that! He sent Timothy to help them to understand their situation, to encourage them to persevere and also, to bring news back!

The greatest antidote to anxiety is news that our worst fears are not realised. It is much easier too keep lines of communication open today than it was in the 1stC. Skype and e-mails can keep us in touch with the church around the world. The application is not just for overseas workers. Family members can have their burden of anxiety lifted with a simple phone call.....

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Dealing With Anxiety

Verses 6-10 speak of the consolations of the gospel and of the rewards, compensations and fruitfulness of those suffering for Christ’s sake. Paul was not the unwitting victim of mood swings - anxiety one minute and ecstatic joy the next! Though a transition in emotion must be expected when you give yourself to the gospel.

Timothy’s good news changed Paul’s situation entirely and it reveals God’s ability to give timely encouragement in our darkest nights : “The Thessalonians are thriving despite suffering and persecution!”

N.B. the significance of the words, ‘we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord’ v8. This goes beyond mere emotion to the substance of the encouragement that Paul experienced.

Joy Unpacked

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The Thessalonians were, in a manner of speaking, a test case for Paul’s ministry. They vindicated his teaching emphasis! Could exposure to the Word of God for even a short period of time – three weeks - produce faithful Christians? Can we trust in the bare Word of God to do its work in men’s hearts when those hearts are open to receive it, without a lot of additional support an discipling being put in place? ‘Oh yes’, says Paul, ‘the Thessalonians are my assurance that this is the case’. God’s Word does its work independently of human support.

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Joy Unpacked

Elsewhere the Corinthian believers, had been in danger of involving themselves in a personality cult. Some were saying, “We’re Paul’s men”, others, “We’re for Apollos”, and others “We’re for Peter”. Paul responded by describing himself as a sower of seed, nothing special in the great scheme of things. Why? For “it is God who gives the increase” 1Cor.3v4ff. God causes his Word to germinate and grow in men’s hearts. Nowhere was this more clearly than at Thessalonica! Paul recognised that it was God who was building his church and that knowledge thrilled him!

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Joy Unpacked

There is a wealth of realism in Paul’s pastoral concern for the Thessalonians, for in the midst of his rejoicing he also speaks of perfecting what is lacking in their faith v10. It brings to mind C.S, Lewis’ comment, “God is easy to please, but hard to satisfy”. Paul uses a verb here that means ‘to render complete’, of ‘bringing something into its proper condition’. In other words, Paul is talking about spiritual maturity and in that regard there is always more to be achieved. We never stop travelling this side of heaven. We dare not think, “I have arrived” spiritually speaking!

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Joy Unpacked

Calvin writes, “For teachers were not ordained only that in one day or in one month they should bring men to the faith of Christ, but that they should bring to completion the faith that has just begun.” Or, think in this way, a church discipleship class may run for 6 weeks but God’s discipleship classes run for the rest of our lives. God had moved in Thessalonica in revival power but the believers still needed to be grounded in their faith. Those who had experienced indescribable blessing still needed to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord, and become mature in both their character and conduct.

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Joy Unpacked

This passage ends with Paul praying that they may experience abounding love towards one another, and for maturity and holiness of life to be established. James Denny helpfully comments:“A selfish, loveless heart can never succeed in this quest. A cold heart is not unblameable, and never will be... But love sanctifies. Often we only escape from our sins by escaping from ourselves; by a hearty, self-denying, self-forgetting interest in others. It is quite possible to think so much about holiness as to put holiness out of our reach; it does not come with concentrating thought upon ourselves at all... Do not let us imagine that there is any other holiness than that which is thus created”.

Conclusion

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An ugly kind of faultlessness regularly raises its head in the Church; a holiness that knows nothing of love, but promotes spiritual isolation. It is censoriousness, it holds up its’ head and shakes off the dust of its’ feet against brethren. It oozes conceit, condescension, sanctimonious separateness and acts as if it were too good for the company of other believers. This so-called ‘holiness’ is plainly condemned in the N.T.

Now is the maturity that Paul longed for something that we have set our sights upon and something with God’s help we are determined to work towards.

Past faithfulness is no substitute for a fresh determination to become the people God wants us to be.

Conclusion

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