Good evening, everyone. Tonight's
message is called Comforted and Established. Turn, if you would,
to 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 tonight, and we will read verses 1 to
5 for tonight's study. Our main verses, though, will
be verses 1 and 2 tonight. Verse 1 of chapter 3, Wherefore,
when we could no longer forbear thought it good to be left at
Athens alone, and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God,
and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish
you and to comfort you concerning your faith, that no man should
be moved by these afflictions. For yourselves know that we are
appointed thereunto. For verily, when we were with
you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation
even as it came to pass, and ye know. For this cause, when
I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some
means the tempter have tempted you, and our labor be in vain."
Now tonight we'll continue our study in the book of 1 Thessalonians,
and again we'll be in chapter 3. In chapter 2 we looked at
how Paul had been compelled to leave Thessalonica because of
the hateful opposition of the Jews. Now they still wanted to
kill him, and it would be dangerous for him to visit Thessalonica
again. But he had a desire, a deep desire to go and see the Thessalonian
believers, but Satan hindered him. many times by rousing up
the Jews who wanted Him dead. Our Sovereign Lord had sent His
chosen instruments to Thessalonica to preach the Gospel of Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. And those born-again saints in
that area were delivered from the power of darkness, because
the Gospel came to them not in word only, but also in power,
and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, all because our
Sovereign Lord granted them repentance unto life. And the Holy Spirit
turned them their false imaginary gods and gave them true saving
faith to turn to the true and living God, the Lord Jesus Christ. And they suffered persecution,
beloved. They suffered persecution from their countrymen and members
of their own family because they made a stand for the truth. And
that truth gives all glory to our great triune God. It gives
glory to the Father, it gives glory to the Son, and it gives
glory to the Holy Spirit of God. But even after God's ministers
had to flee Thessalonica because of the persecution from those
Christ-hating unbelievers, the born-again children of God at
Thessalonica continued in the faith, meeting together in true
Christian fellowship and waiting for the return of the Lord Jesus
Christ, who had delivered them from the wrath to come. Turn,
if you would, to chapter two, and we'll look at a couple of
verses here. We will see that Paul had a deep love for the
saints at Thessalonica, which is bought forth in verses eight,
17, and 19 to 20. Look at verse eight. So being
affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted
unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls,
because ye were dear unto us. In verse 17. But we brethren,
being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart,
endeavored the more abundantly to see your face with great desire."
And in verse 19 and 20, For what is our hope, or joy, or crown
of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence
of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For ye are our glory
and joy. So tonight we're seeing chapter
3 that while it was still dangerous for Paul to go to Thessalonica
that Timothy was sent. Now the fury of the Jews were
set upon he who they looked at as the ringleader and that was
the Apostle Paul in the eyes of the unbelieving Jews. And
we see that Paul sent Timothy to establish them so that their
afflictions did not give room for Satan to try to disband the
group. And if this happened, then he knew that all that hard
work in planting a church would be in vain. Therefore, Paul,
Silas, and Timothy, being concerned for the infant church at Thessalonica,
remember, it was a young church. Therefore, Paul sends a trusted
messenger. He sends Timothy, a man of sound
judgment, doctrine, and prudence. He's selected for this difficult
and important mission. And this all happened, remember,
according to the will and the providence of God. Paul, moved
by God the Holy Spirit, wrote this epistle that we're studying
after Timothy had bought him the good report concerning the
love the saints in Thessalonica had for the gospel and for his
people. They were manifesting the love
of God. They were manifesting their love
of the Lord Jesus Christ, their love for his gospel, and they
were manifesting their love for each other. So we see tonight
that Timothy sent back to the Thessalonians to establish them,
grounding them in Christ, and to comfort them concerning their
faith. How? With the preaching of the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ, who was the object of their faith.
And we see in verse one, Paul, Silas, and Timothy had heavy
hearts for the believers in Thessalonica. As we looked at in chapter two,
they longed to see them in the flesh, but Satan hindered them.
Now we see in verse one, that longing is bought out in more
words. He says in verse one of chapter
three, Wherefore, when we could no longer forbear, we thought
it good to be left at Athens." Now, see this word, forbear,
in verse one. Vine's Greek Expository Dictionary
brings out this. He has longing for some personal
communication with them, and it has become intolerable. That's
what forbear means there. Has your longing to see someone
ever been like that, where you just have to go and see them
because it's become intolerable being away from them? or not
being in contact with them. We see Paul thought it better
to be without Timothy's presence at Athens, which was a great
blessing to him. He thought it better to be without
Timothy's presence at Athens and to send Timothy to be with
them. Now, Timothy was no doubt a great
comfort to Paul and Silas. His brothers and sisters in Christ
often are one to another. And he sends Timothy from Athens
to Thessalonica. Now we see in verse 2 the reason
that Paul sent Timothy to the saints at Thessalonica. Let's
read verse 2. Thessalonians chapter 3 verse
2, And sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our
fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and
to comfort you concerning your faith. Now Timothy was a young
preacher, and he was a true minister of God. He was one who had been
entrusted with the true gospel of God's sovereign grace. And
we see in this verse that the Apostle Paul referred to him
as a fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ. God's preachers, those
who have been sent by God to pastor his blood-bought children,
can say the same thing about certain brothers in our assembly
who minister to the brethren in our fellowship. We highly
esteem them in the ministry, and thank God that he has sent
fellow laborers in the gospel of Christ. It is the sincere
desire of all of God's pastors who minister to the saints to
establish them in the faith. to comfort them concerning their
faith. And think upon this, also by
Paul sending Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians, while he
himself stood in much need of the young man's services, we
plainly see then how little Paul regarded himself when the welfare
of the church was before him. Oh, that we who would believe
would be given the same grace and strength to do this also.
How do we know? How do we know that Timothy was
a great comfort to Paul? How do we know this? Well let's
turn to Philippians chapter 2 and we'll read verses 19 to 24 where
Paul speaks of his dear brother in Christ Timothy. So think of
this, Paul didn't just send a mere messenger to the Thessalonians. No, Paul sent his dearly beloved
brother, Timothy. Oh, he was like a son to him.
He was like a son to him. They served together in the gospel. And we'll see that brought forth
here. Let's read Philippians chapter two, verses 19 to 24. But I trust in the Lord Jesus
to send Timothy shortly unto you, that I also may be of good
comfort when I know your state. For I have no man like-minded
who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own,
not the things which are Jesus Christ." Now, there's a good
point for us to examine ourselves. In your service for Christ, do
you seek your own? Do you seek your own, your own things, your
own status, your own standing? Or do you seek the things which
are Jesus Christ? The gospel going forth, the gospel
going forth in power by the Holy Spirit of God. Look what it says
here. But we know the proof of him
that as a son with the father, he has served with me in the
gospel. So they were very, very close. Him, therefore, I hope
to send presently so soon as I shall see how it will go with
me. But I trust in the Lord that
I also myself shall come shortly. So again, Paul doesn't just send
anybody. He doesn't just send a messenger
to the Thessalonian believers. No, look at our text again. He
sends Timothy, who is a brother in Christ, to Silas and Paul,
and not just a brother in Christ, but a very, very close brother
in Christ, a dear brother in Christ. And he also brings forth
that Timothy is sent by God, as he's a minister of God, and
he is a fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ. Look at verse
2 again. And sent Timothy, our brother
and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel,
to establish you and to comfort you concerning your faith. So
we see very clearly here that Paul sends Timothy, and it's
by the will of God, and Timothy is a minister of God, he's a
sent gospel preacher, and he's a fellow laborer of Paul in the
gospel of Christ. And he's sent to the Thessalonian
believers to establish you, it says, and to comfort you concerning
your faith. Now establish in the Greek there
means to make stable, to place firmly, to set fast, to fix,
to strengthen, to make firm, to render constant, confirm one's
mind. And then comfort in the Greek
there means to call to one side, call for summon, to address,
speak to, which may be done in a way of exhortation, appeal,
comfort, and instruction. Turn if you would to Romans chapter
1 where we see that Paul makes a very similar statement over
in the book of Romans. And now that we know what those
definitions are, look at this over here in Romans chapter 1
verses 11 and 12. Paul writes this to the believers
at Rome. He says, So Timothy was sent
to the believers in Christ at Thessalonica to establish them and comfort them concerning their
faith. Let this truth be sounded out loud and clear. Absolutely
no one is established in the faith or comforted in their faith
without the preaching of the true gospel of God's amazing
grace bestowed upon those who were redeemed by the precious
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross. Timothy was
very, very dear to Paul. That young preacher was very
vital to him. He was an important instrument
who had been very valuable and very helpful to those faithful
ministers of the Lord's Gospel. And Paul again sends him by the
will and purpose of God to preach the Gospel to the Thessalonian
believers, whereby they would be comforted and established
in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel empowered
by the Holy Spirit of God comforts the afflicted minds and distressed
consciences of God's people. It is the will of God that His
people should be spoken to comfortably. And the doctrines of the grace
of God in Christ, spoken of in the gospel of God's free and
sovereign grace, they do just that, don't they? They comfort
God's people. John Gale brings us forth about
this verse. These saints might be in some
doubt about the grace of faith, whether it was right or not,
or about the doctrine of faith they had received, and therefore
Timothy is sent to comfort them under their afflictions. which
might have created these doubts, and to remove them by showing
them that their faith was like precious faith with the apostles,
and that the doctrine of faith they embraced was the faith once
delivered to the saints, and was the true faith of Christ.
So let us think about this. Paul is seeking to comfort the
saints at Thessalonica during their trials, tribulations, and
afflictions that they are going through. How do How do people
who find themselves in tribulation and trials react today? Well,
religion automatically calls for counselors and crisis managers
to quell or avoid the impending turmoil. The world does the same
thing, doesn't it? But we see that Paul, in this
situation, he employs the only thing that he knows will be of
help to the brethren at Thessalonica. established love and the preaching
of the gospel. The love that Paul, Silas, and
Timothy had for the saints at Thessalonica, and their desire
to know how they were doing, moved them to send Timothy, their
fellow laborer, to Thessalonica, even though it would be a great
sacrifice on the part of Paul and Silas. They thought it good
to be left at Athens without Timothy, knowing he would be
a very effective tool in the hands of God Almighty to establish
those saints, and to comfort them concerning their faith through
the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, this
is no small journey. I looked this up and Thessalonica
is at the northern part of Greece and to the west. Athens is near
the bottom of Greece at the lower end of the Aegean Sea. And this
is a five hour drive by car today. It's 501 kilometers, which is
311 miles. So we see that this is no small
trip that they're sending Timothy on. Whether he travels by land
or whether he travels by sea, it's gonna be a long trip. And
they send him back to Thessalonica to establish and comfort the
saints there by the preaching of the gospel. So Paul's love
for the Thessalonian saints here is expressed in a very special
way. As they are all together, Paul, Silas, and Timothy are
all together in Athens preaching the gospel. And Timothy, again,
we saw was Paul's son in the faith. a faithful friend and
a fellow laborer in the gospel, very, very dear to Paul. So it
was no small thing for Paul to send Timothy away and be without
him in Athens. But because he could not bear
to be without knowledge of how his brethren were faring in Thessalonica,
he sends his dearest friend, his dearest brother to Thessalonica
to hear of how they are doing. And Timothy is described as a
minister of God, a fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ. And
Paul knows that he will learn of their estate through the ministry
of the gospel. He knows that Timothy will bring
back a faithful report, whether it be good or whether it be bad.
Look at verse two again, and sent Timothy, our brother and
minister of God and our fellow labor in the gospel of Christ
to establish you and to comfort you concerning your faith. We
see in verse two that Paul's reasoning for sending Timothy
was to establish and comfort the brethren concerning their
faith. In the words, your faith or the
faith is the doctrine of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, God incarnate
in the flesh. And now Paul's not questioning
their faith in Christ or that their hearts have been established
by grace. The establishment he addresses
here is how that tribulation might've affected their adherence
to the truth. Did they waver in the truth under
the afflictions that they'd been going through? Or have they drawn
closer to our great God as a result of the trials and afflictions
they have gone through? Now turn, if you would, to 1
Thessalonians 2, and we'll look at a little bit of these trials
that they've been through, and these afflictions that have come
their way, again, by appointment of God. We'll see that next week.
Next week, we'll see that these afflictions are appointed by
God. Look at this in 1 Thessalonians
2, in verses 14 to 16. Paul, by inspiration of the Holy
Spirit of God, is brought forth in this book, in chapter two,
what they had been facing, what they had been going through.
For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God, which
in Judea are in Christ Jesus. For ye also have suffered like
things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews.
So they were suffering under the hands of their own countrymen.
They were suffering under the hands of the Greeks, who had
both killed the Lord Jesus and their prophets and have persecuted
us. And they pleased not God and are contrary to all men.
forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles, that they might be
saved, to fill up their sins all the way. For the wrath has
come upon them to the uttermost." So we see in those scriptures
there that the brethren in Jerusalem, in Judea, had been afflicted
by their own countrymen as well. And now the Thessalonian believers,
they'd been afflicted by their own countrymen as well. So tribulations
come to believers. Trials will come to believers.
And tribulations and cares that attend life can sometimes cause
men and women of the faith to seek remedies other than the
gospel. It's not that they disbelieve, but rather they look away from
Christ to their self, to figure a way to overcome the trial and
the situation that they find themselves currently in. And
now we who are the people of God, we know this to be true
because we've all went through that. We see that Paul sent Timothy
to preach the gospel as it's the only thing that will establish
a believer in the faith. Now Paul, when he wrote Timothy
in one of his epistles, he wrote this to Timothy, holding fast
the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able
by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainslayers.
So how is the believer in Christ established in the faith? Sound
doctrine is how the believer is established, especially in
the midst of a trial or tribulation that we may go through. Listen
to these words about sound doctrine in the second epistle. which
Paul wrote to Timothy. 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 2
to 4. Preach the word. Preach the word.
Preach the gospel. Preach the word. Be instant,
in season, out of season, reproof, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering
and doctrine. For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall
they heap to themselves teachers, have an itch in ears, and they
shall turn away their ears from the truth. and shall be turned
unto fables. Look at that. They're not endure
sound doctrine. They're not endure the preaching
of the gospel. Oh, my. And comfort is given
in the same manner that that the believer is established.
It's the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
this is comfort for the born again believer in Christ, because
the gospel gives the believer comfort. Even though we are afflicted,
it comforts a believer in Christ with the assurance that the things
that are afflicting us are not unto judgment. Now it's natural
for human beings to look inward when we are troubled. And sometimes
we who are believers look to see if there's some sin that
has brought this trouble upon us, this trial, this affliction.
And we know natural man does that too. They look and they
say, well, I'm going to change this. I'm going to stop doing
this. I'm going to stop doing that. Thinking maybe, religious
people especially, thinking that it will gain them merit and favor
with God and the trial will end because they're doing something. But we who are the people of
God, we need to hear the gospel. We need the gospel to be brought
before us continuously. We need to continually hear the
gospel which tells us about Christ and Him crucified. When we do
this, we will not waste time trying to find out which sin
we did that's causing this affliction. Remember, we're sinners from
the top of our heads to the bottom of our feet. But we who are the
people of God are saved sinners. And we're no more be judged for
our sins, beloved. And praise His holy name that's
true. Now next week's message, we'll
see how our afflictions are appointed by God. We who are the people
of God know that all things work together in our lives, right?
For the glory of God and for our good. We know that. It's
stated that in Romans, isn't it? So think about that when
we look at how our afflictions are appointed by God. Look at
verse 3. that no man should be moved by
these afflictions, for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. So rejoice, you who are the people
of God, you who are born again by the Holy Spirit of God, you
who are redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The
gospel declares that your sins have been put away, that you
are forgiven. and that Christ has borne the
judgment, do you, by a substitutionary sacrifice. So we can then see
that our tribulations, trials, and afflictions, we know they're
not comfortable, are they? No, but great comfort can be
found in the midst of a trial. If the believer can see that
what has come his way is of God in grace and therefore for our
good, we should ask the Lord during the midst of a trial and
tribulation, Lord, what are you teaching me here? What are you
teaching me here, Lord? And always in the midst of trials
and tribulations, it drives the believer to the scriptures. It
drives the believer to prayer. It drives the believer for a
desire to hear the gospel over and over and over again. So the
desired effect of being comforted and established by the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ, which Paul sent Timothy to do by the
preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, The desired
effect of that, by the grace of God, and always by the grace
of God, the believer in Christ is not moved by these afflictions,
these trials and troubles, because God keeps us, beloved. These
trials and tribulations and troubles come our way, and these things
are appointed by God for us. And he has given us a remedy
to endure these trials, to endure these tribulations, and it's
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. which will establish
and comfort the born-again, blood-washed child of God. To God be the glory,
great things He hath done. Amen and amen.