Speaking for the help of the
Lord, I direct your prayerful attention to Paul's second epistle
to the Thessalonians, chapter 3 and verse 1. To Thessalonians, chapter 3 and
verse 1. Finally, brethren, pray for us. that the word of the Lord may
have free course and be glorified even as it is with you. 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 and verse
1. In the portion that we read in
the first epistle, we read of the apostle, verse 25 of the
fifth chapter, asking them, Brethren, pray for
us. In both epistles he asks them
so to do towards the end of his letter. In our text he gives
those specific things that they are to pray that the word of
the Lord may have free course and be glorified even as it is
with you and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked
men, for all men have not faith. Now in asking them to pray, it
is a, there's a thing that is able to appeal to these Thessalonians,
the word that was preached to them, and those things that he's
asking them to pray for and the effects of it, They had already
had that, so it is not that they are praying for the Apostle to
be blessed with something that they knew nothing of at all. At the end of our text it says,
even as it is with you. In knowing what to pray for,
as the Apostle, and as those with him, when preaching the
Gospel in Thessalonians, he was saying, I would that others have
the blessings that you have, and the effect of the word that
you have, that they might know it as well. Remember in the very
first of this epistle, the first chapter, The Apostle says that
our Gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power,
and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, as ye know what
manner of men we were among you for your sakes. the Word of God. I wonder how
often that we seek to pray for the Lord's servants in that same
way, if we have been blessed and favoured, if the Lord's servants
have been held amongst us and we have received the Word, that
we think along these lines of what the Apostle is saying, that
we are to pray for those servants, that as they go ministering and
even amongst us, that the effect is the same, that others have
it as well. And they know the same power,
they know the same fruit that follows the ministry of the Word.
Because that is really what the Apostle is saying here, even
as it is with you. They don't have to look anywhere
else but themselves, and he says, pray for us. that the word of
the Lord may have free course and be glorified even as it is
with you. And he adds again on this that
we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men for all men have
not faith. And of course the apostles did
suffer much from those that opposed the word and those that hated
him and the word. And he puts it down that this
is because they did not have faith. They were receiving that
word as a natural word and so rose up against it. But it's
not the second verse that is upon my spirit but the first
verse and the first part of it this evening. And so I want to
look firstly at the exhortation to pray. Finally brethren pray
for us. And then secondly, the things
that hinder so the Word does not have free course. Because
the prayer is to be that the Word of the Lord may have free
course. Well, what is it that stops that
Word freely going forth and freely accomplishing what is expected
and should? It must be something that hinders
it. If it has free course, is it
an opposite where it is hindered? And then thirdly, that which
glorifies the Word of the Gospel, because that is what the Word
of the Lord is. It is meant to be, the Gospel,
the Word of the Lord, have recourse, not just recourse, but can be
glorified. What is it when the Word of the
Lord is glorified? These are the two things that
he's really asking. saying, well, these Thessalonians,
they knew both of these things already. It's good when we have
a mindfulness of what we are praying for. The first is the
exhortation to pray. How we so need to be reminded
again and again to go to prayer. Many times we can exhort one
another, speak about it, preach of it, know that it's right,
but putting it into practice is another thing. And we often
should stop and really consider how much do we actually pray? How much time do we spend? How
many times is our heart really with it? One great encouragement
for prayer is when we do pray and we do see the answers. And it's good in short-term things,
small things, providential things, because sometimes we can see
the answers for those very, very quickly. Many times over the
years in design work, in my employment, or even at home, when we sought
wisdom to know how to do something, that the answer to that has been
realised in a few days and then really confirmed later on that
it really was help from the Lord and many times in my design career
I realised that the successful design that that was in answer
to prayer because there are those things that we pray for and especially
what is set before us here that we may not immediately see the
answers. We may not be immediately able
to marry up our prayers and then the answer, especially when we're
praying for someone else that may be not in our presence. We
may not know exactly what's happening. They could pray for the Apostle
Paul here and the Lord bless him and bless the people but
we do not get back to them that it has actually had that effect.
But if we know the worth of prayer and we approve that God does
hear and answer prayer, then that is a real encouragement
to pray. And the Lord exhorted in this
way again and again, continuing prayer, that man ought always
to pray and not to faint. And he saved parables in that
way. The parable of the unjust judge
and the widow And how by her continual coming she may weary
me, he says, so I will grant her what she wants, who wouldn't
have otherwise. But the Lord said, hear what
the unjust judge saith, and shall not God avenge his own elend?
Which cry day and night unto him. And he says he will hear
them speedily. There are many exhortations to
pray. The apostle Peter also exhorts
that it should be. and that men ought always to
pray, to be instant in prayer, in season and out of season,
and that whatsoever that ye would desire of the Lord were to ask,
and it shall be given you. Seek and ye shall find not, and
it shall be home and unto you. How many times the Lord will
say, I will yet be inquired of by the house of Israel to do
it for them. And so it is the exhortation
to pray. But who is making this? The Apostle says pray for us. Who is the us? Is it just the
Apostle Paul? No, in the first verse of this
epistle we read Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus unto the church
of the Thessalonians. Three ministers. Beautiful thing,
isn't it? Where you get three of the Lord's
servants together, eye to eye, writing one united letter to
a people, and as unitedly, they're asking, pray for us. Not just pray for me, Paul needs
praying for, but not the other two, or the other two need, but
not Paul because he's the apostle, no, all of them. Every one of
the Lord's servants needs that prayer for these things that
are set before us here. It would be impossible to mention
this in both of his epistles to them. He felt it. He felt the need of it and the
worth of it. But by whom? Who is to do the
praying? He says here finally brethren
pray for us. He doesn't say deacons or ministers, but he says brethren. In the
chapter that we read, there is a beseeching you brethren to
know them which labour among you, and are over you in the
Lord, and admonish you to esteem them very highly in love for
their work's sake, and be at peace amongst yourselves." And
again he's exhorting brethren there as well. These are not
those that labour among men. They're the brethren of the Lord.
They're the called ones, the chosen ones. Those that are the
Lord's people that have been manifest as the Lord's people. We're not to think just because
we haven't got a position in the Church of God as an office
bearer that then we have not got a position in the praying
Church of God. And I believe he includes here
not only my brethren, certainly for public prayer, but those
of the women to pray in silence. And it's good to think how whatever
member we are of a church, are we a praying member? Does the
Church of God benefit from our prayers? Sometimes it may be
that our prayers just centre on ourselves or on our family. and they'd only stand there to
think of the Church of God. And so he's saying brethren,
there's another thing here, does that rule any of us out? Are
we brethren? Are we numbered amongst the people
of God? Does the Lord acknowledge us
as his brethren? No, Joseph is a beautiful word,
wasn't it? When that one found him wandering
in the field, he says, I seek my brethren. What they did to him, but he
called them brethren. And the Lord Jesus Christ, he
came unto his own. His own received him not. They
dealt with him, just the same really as Joseph's brothers did. But dear Joseph, he was seeking
his brethren. And as a blessed thing, if we
have that mark, we know that we have passed from death unto
life, because we love the brethren. That's a mark of being amongst
the brethren, because we love the brethren. They gather us
together. So what are they praying? Finally,
brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord may have free
course and be glorified, even as it is with you. The only way
that we can really watch in prayer and give thanks in prayer is
if we have specific things that we pray for. Dear Hannah, she
could come to Eli and say for this child I pray and the Lord
have given me my petition that I have asked of him. It is where
we can really notice where the Lord has answered our prayers
and we can give thanks. How generalised are our prayers
or are they for specific things that As David says, my cup, it
runs over. And can we look at our cup, the
cup of salvation, we say in that cup has been answers to prayer,
blessings in my soul, good hearing times, deliverances, all make
up this cup of salvation that the Lord has given. Those are
blessed things. if there are those things that
we are specifically asked of the Lord for. And so this is
the exhortation to pray. Very clear who it is addressed
to, who is to be prayed for, and what is to be prayed for
concerning them. Well as to what they are to pray
for, is that the word of the Lord may have free course and
be glorified. I want now to look at the next
point on the things that hinder the word so that it does not
have free course. When we think of the things that
hinder it, these are the things that through prayer, that they
are going to be removed out of the way and that they won't hinder
that word. the world will have free course. You know, when we were children,
little children, we loved to play in the mud puddles, and
we used to make water courses so that where there was one puddle,
we could make a nice river running to the next puddle, and the water
would just run freely from one to the other. But then if there
were things in the way then it wouldn't run freely at all. It
would either go sidetracked or it would go over the stones that
were in the way. So we'd just move those things
out of the way to get a nice clean water course through. And
this is the idea that is here. That the world just freely runs
without any obstacles, without anything in the way. and it achieves
its purpose, it gets to its end. My word shall not return unto
me void, it shall accomplish the thing whereto I sent it. And this then is to be prayed
for and sought for. The first thing that I would
say is a hindrance, is where there are unprepared hearers. We would think of the role of
John the Baptist. John the Baptist was sent before
our Lord to prepare the way of the Lord. When he preached, the
people were in expectation. And what a blessing it would
be when we come into the house of God under the preached word
that we are in expectation. What a blessing. That certainly
was what was, John the Baptist was used to point out the Lord
and to prepare the way. We think then of the parable
that the Lord spoke of the sower. And what is so emphasized there
is the ground that the seed fell upon. The one that was the wayside
hearer, the birds came and they just picked up the word, it went
straight away. The Lord said, that was like
Satan just taking the word out of the hump. immediately because
it was not understood, they didn't understand it. Then there was
those that were on stony ground because they were not much root,
they sprang up very quickly, but then when the sun rose it
scorched and it soon withered away. Like those that when there
came persecution because of the word, then by and by they were
offended and they went back. And the others were in ground
of which there was thorns and thorns sprang up and they choked
the word and it became unfruitful. All of these things were, and
our Lord interpreted that as the world and the things of it
just choked the word that it did not bring forth fruit. But
that which did bring forth fruit was on prepared ground. And it
is so vital that we be prepared to receive the word. When the
Lord would turn the children of Israel back from their idolatry
and bold worship, he gave them three and a half years of famine.
That was to prepare them, to make them ready to put Baal on
trial, to have those two altars made. And the Lord uses things
like this. When we're settled on our lease,
when we're careless, we're worldly, He uses things to unsettle us,
to put a thorn in the nest, to make us ready to receive the
Word, ready to hear the Word. But not only is the Lord's work
to do that for His people, and He will do that in His people's
lives, but those especially of brethren, they are exhorted in
this to seek that we might prepare our hearts to receive the word. Instead of us, if we're just
rushing in from the world, from whatever we've been doing, no
prayer, no concern, no thoughts, no preparation, we sit down and
we're going to hear the word. And there's been no prior thought
throughout the day at all, or meditation, no prior thought
and thinking, well, the poor minister, maybe hasn't got a
text, and he's looking and looking for a text, and the poor minister's
thinking, is anyone else praying for me? Is anyone praying that
I might have a text? That I might be able to bring
them the word? Is there anyone that's doing
that? Is anyone preparing for a service
like me? Although they're not going to
preach, if they're going to hear it, am I the only one trying
to prepare? And you can answer that. Has there been any preparation
before our gathering this evening? Or do we just gather and just,
without a thought as to what we're going to hear? You know, if we were having a
meal for our home, do we not prepare at all? Do we just come
to the table and just, well, expect there'll always be something
there? If we're having an appetite,
then we're not going to appreciate what is there. If we come straight out of the
garden and our hands are all filthy, we're not really going
to be over sitting down eating our dinner with our hands. And
in some ways, though it might be small, it's a bit of a preparation,
isn't it? Thought beforehand before you
actually sit down. Where there is not that, there
is a hindrance to the Word. The Word does not have free course. There has not been that preparation
that has been beforehand. That's the thing, when the Lord,
during the day, and we think, we hope to gather in the Lord's
house tonight, And for a few moments is that prayer and heart
lifting up to the Lord that you come, you bless the world, refresh
our souls. The preparations of the heart
in man and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. Nice to have those promptings
that we're not forgetful of those appointed times You know, sometimes
people will say, well, we pray for the Lord's Day, we pray for
Lord's servants, that, you know, the amount of times I've perhaps
been on the phone to someone they've had mainly supply ministry,
and I've said to them, who's your minister at Lord's Day?
Oh, I don't know. Oh, let me go and get the list
and have a look. Haven't you been praying for
him? You don't even know who's going to come on the Lord's day.
And that often happens. For the pastor, maybe you do
know each time who's going to be there. Preparation. The second thing
that will hinder it and stop the world having free course
is distraction. Distracted thoughts and cares. Our Lord was in the house, Mary
could sit at his feet and hear his word, but Martha was cumbered
about with much serving. That will stop the word having
free course. Another thing that will stop
her is where that word is not understood. And this comes down
to the minister, mostly. Paul said, I would rather speak
five words with the understanding and 10,000 words in an unknown
tongue. And he said, if the trumpet does
not give a certain sound, how will they adhere it, prepare
for the battle? And he said, even with those
things that haven't got a life-giving sound, with the organ, if there's
only one note on the organ, you couldn't make it play a tune.
You need a distinction of sound. And the Apostle, he applies that
with preaching. That will be a hindrance if the
people are not understanding and not grasping what is said. If it's going right over their
heads, if it is not applicable to them, then that will not profit
them. And so the Apostle, he spoke that great need having
the understanding. We mentioned about the sower
as well in that parable, the great difference between the
first and the fourth era that is mentioned in the scriptures. The first did not understand
the world, the last that bare fruit did. And that is a vital
thing. When the Lord appeared after
he rose from the dead, Then opened he their understanding that they
might understand the Scriptures. So may that be also part of our
prayer and preparation, that we understand the Word. Remember when Philip came to
the Union, what was his first question? Understandest thou
what thou readest? How can I except some man guide
me? And the Lord gave to Philip his
text, and that's what he preached from, beginning at the same scripture,
preached unto him Jesus. Another way the Word will not
have free course is that which Paul set before the Corinthians
in his first epistle to them. And he says in the first chapter,
He said, we preach Christ's crucifying, verse 23, unto the Jews a stumbling
block, and unto the Greeks foolishness. And as the Jews, they stumbled
at that. This is Jesus of Nazareth, the
carpenter's son. And they stumbled at that. And
the Greeks, well, what foolishness this is. We're an intellectual
people. Just get a carp in the stunnel,
this man, and he'll save us from our sins. And I ridicule the
gospel. Many apostles say, but unto them
which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of
God, and the wisdom of God, because the foolishness of God is wiser
than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Beware
when Satan comes in. come in, and you suggest this,
and you put some stumbling block that you can't hear the words,
or you put something and you say, well that's foolish, that's
silly, if you think that's going in. Just the way that Paul sets
before us here. When we think of Those in John
6, our Lord was teaching, and they were offended. How can this
man give us his flesh to eat? They couldn't understand him.
They went back, they walked no more with him. Peter, he says
of Paul's writings, in the which are some things hard to be understood,
which they which are unlearned and unstable rest or twist as
they also do the other scriptures. to their own destruction. Those
things that stop the word from having free course. Pride. One of our hymns says, nor are
men willing to have the truth told. The sight is too killing
for pride to behold. When the Lord reproved the scribes,
the Pharisees, the lawyers said, He's so sane, how speakest thou
against us? And as soon as they discerned
that actually He was speaking against them, they rose up against
it. The Lord deliver us from being
that kind of a hearer, that as soon as we think, well the minister's
having a go at me. He's touching my life or my failure. shutters go down, the hindrance
is there, the word doesn't have free course, it's determined
not to hear it. And the apostle and the Lord
had many that were like that, they could not receive the word. Unbelief. You might say, well
is not the gospel to deal highly with unbeliefs and night believers,
yes it is. But remember our Lord said that
he could not do any great work in a place because of their unbelief. They never nurture unbelief,
never think it is something that is not what it is, it's a hindrance. It stops up the word, causes
the word not to be received. And what then about sin? You
say, well, isn't the gospel to deliver us from our sins and
from our iniquities? Yes, it is. But when we are hardened
in sin, when we're determined to continue in it, then that stops. It grieves the
Holy Spirit, and it stops and holds back the blessings of the
Lord. The path set before us in John,
if we confess our sins, is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
to cleanse us from all iniquity. He told, if I regard iniquity
in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. And what is meant there,
if I regard it and think, well, I don't want to be pardoned from
that sin. I love that sin. I'm going to
keep going with that. When I pray, I'm not going to
specifically pray against that sin, because I want it still.
So I'll leave that out, my prayers. And when I listen to the word
preached, I'm not going to hear anything that's spoken against
my cherished sin, because I still want to continue in it, so I'm
going to stop my ears from that. And the word doesn't have free
course. And it's because we're in love
with sin and not willing to part with it, not willing to have
it dealt with. And I know if we're honest, we
do love our sins. And sometimes it's a real wrestle
and real struggle to pray against them and to seek to hear that
which shall deal with those sins. We don't like it. Not willing
for it. but may we be mindful of how
much that does stop up the way and grieve the spirit. Let's turn just a few of these
points round the other way. What if the Lord has brought
us into the house prepared, hungry, desiring for the word and we've
been able to lay aside every weight and the sin that does
so easily beset us and we've come desiring to hear the word. And we understand what is set
before us. And we don't have those prejudices
of being offended at the word or think it's a foolish word.
And the Lord's humbled us low. Many things have happened in
our lives and it's laid us real low in the dust. And we really do believe the
Gospel, and believe the Word of God, and it is the Word of
God, and there are those sins that cleave to us, but we hate
those sins. We've come, even like the woman
with the issue of blood, desiring to touch the hem of his garment.
Enough, we've come like that. Is not this prayer answered in
that respect? that the Word of the Lord may
have free course, that those things that would stop it have
been removed, they are not there, and the Word can go straight
through and be received into our heart. It was what follows here, the
prayer to be delivered For wicked and unreasonable men, for all
men, have not faith. If the word is to profit, then
we must have faith. The word did not profit them
in that they received it, did not have faith. It was not mixed
with faith in them that heard it. But faith is the gift of
God. We are to pray for that. That
is given at the new birth. and the Lord's dear people do
have faith. I want then to look at the last
point, which is that which glorifies the word of the gospel. We mentioned
with the Thessalonians here that Paul identified in his first
letter that the word had come to them not in word only, but
in demonstration of spirit and of power. That glorifies the
word of the gospel. I couldn't remember the apostles
had a tarry of Jerusalem until they were endued with powerful
Monheim. When the Holy Spirit was given,
that word was in power. It had a real powerful effect,
a real authority from heaven. that glorified that word. It
was not just the word of man, it was the word of God, and the
spirit was with the Lord's servant. The conversion of sinners glorifies
the gospel. In that early church, under those
first sermons, 3,000 were blessed, were converted, and it's put
this way, they were added unto the church of God. They were
always really in the church, that number chosen in Christ
from the foundation of the world, but they were added openly, known
and read and seen of all men. And they had been brought from
darkness to light, brought into that visible church of Christ. And that glorified the Word.
What it must have been to see so many that were turned from
idols to serve the living and true God. What it must have been
to have had those that had no knowledge before of the things
of God, speaking the wonderful works of God. When they heard
that at Antioch, in Syria, they had received the word, then they
sent Barnabas to see that church. And we read that when Barnabas
saw the grace of God, he was glad. What did Barnabas see? He saw changed characters. He
saw those that were no longer following idols, but the true
and living God. He saw lives changed and that
glorified the word of the Lord. Another way that that word is
glorifying, when it does profit the people, it might not say,
well, I've been really blessed today, but if you can say that
I've profited unto the word. Might be one pence, might be
thirty-five fruit, might be sixty, but it's a blessed thing to gain
and to profit from the Word. That glorifies the Word. A gracious walk. What shall it
be if the Gospel is much spoken of as how wonderful it is that
it is the message of salvation through our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ? that He has suffered at Calvary,
that He has shed His precious blood there and redeemed His
people and loosed them and set them free and delivered them
from their sins, given them that hope of heaven and a righteousness
that they may stand faultless before the throne. But as the
people testify of that which they have and that hope in the
Lord Jesus Christ Others look at their lives and they don't
see a gracious walk. They don't see the evidence of
that in their lives. It's only a spiritual experience,
a spiritual talk. But it hasn't changed how they
behave one towards another. In fact, sometimes it may be
the opposite. Stand by thyself for I am holier
than thou. Or like with the priest and the
Levite, they come to the wounded one and pass him by on the other
side. And the Samaritan comes where
he is. So what glorifies the word of
the Lord is that effect in our lives. The people, it was said
they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
with Daniel those around him had to say which you'll find
no fault in this man except concerning his God and the law of his God. And that is a good witness, that
is a good thing and it glorifies the word of the Lord when it
has that effect that it may be said the Lord hath done great
things for them And we not only have to say the Lord has done
great things for us, but others say it as well. That that word
has been effectual. It will glorify the Lord when
that word is used to deliver. Deliver a people from snares,
deliver a people from providential trials, deliver them from Satan's
hand. That's one of the great works
of our Lord, born thy people to deliver, to save them from
their sins, to deliver them from all evil. A people that were
ensnared in holes and pits and dens, and the Lord comes and
delivers them. command deliverances unto Jacob, a people that had no helper,
no deliverer. And then the Lord came and He
delivered His people. Jonah says from the whale's belly,
salvation is of the Lord. But then there is a comforting
of the people of God, binding up the wounds of sin, going after that which is lost,
the sheep that's in the ditch, that that has run away. And when the Word does that,
then it is glorified. The Lord is glorified. when his
poor people are found. And there's the pouring in the
oil and wine of the gospel, what the law could not do in that
it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own son. What a blessed difference there
is between the law and the gospel. The law brings us in as sinners,
but the gospel points to the finished work of our Lord and
that deliverance from sin. Mercy through blood I make my
plea, God be merciful to me. When the people are fed, Peter
was said, feed my sheep, feed my lambs, that glorifies the
word of the Lord. When the Lord Jesus Christ is
glorified, that glorifies the gospel and the word of the Lord. with our answers to prayer, have
we had those things that we can say, this prayer has been made
and answered, there have been those that have been converted,
the word has profited me from time to time and I trust it has
been that which has changed my walk and outlook And it has delivered
from snares, and I've seen others delivered also from their snares,
and the people of God comforted. And in these things, the word
of the Lord is lifted up, and we praise Him, we bless the Lord
for it, and He glorifies the Lord. So these are the things
to pray for, to watch over, And the Lord have all the glory and
all the honor of what the Word does, the Word of the Gospel,
my Word that shall not return unto me void. Finally, brethren,
pray for us that the Word of the Lord may have free course
and be glorified, even as it is with you. The Lord add His
blessing.