Coro Baptist Church

Life is not the same today as it was yesterday or the day before. When we consider the struggles we faced in the past, some have remained the same, their persistent nature being the struggle, while others are gone and replaced with something new. Sin, the curse, the devil, they have more than one tool in their arsenal with which to attack the church. How are we to survive, let alone thrive, in these ever-changing conditions? Where can we find solid ground upon which to stand? As we begin the second letter of Paul to the Thessalonians, we can see that the church has changed. Even as the persecution they face has increased, and there are false teachers seeking to lead them astray, the church has grown. Their faith has flourished, their love increased, and their hope persisted. How? In the midst of all the changes, the "grace and peace of God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ" remains unchanged. God's grace and peace toward us is the solid ground upon which we stand. Come what may.

Paul prays that God would bless them with what he sees that only our God of peace can do for them and us, i.e. to sanctify us completely, blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ray, before going on leave, spoke from 1 Thes 3:11-13 – Blameless in Holiness, a parallel or bookend framing what we've heard whilst he's been away. Much of Paul's letter between these "bookends" has had to do with how we are to live up until the Day of the Lord, and what that day would be like. And, much of this is condensed within these two bookends. We will revisit what sanctification is, what God does in us by sanctifying us, and the encouragement we can take in the assurance of our sanctification. This has great implications for how the saints (the holies/us!) live and how we are to be children of light until He comes.

Brother and Sisters, continuing our series in 1 Thessalonians this week, Paul provides some final, but nonetheless needed, instruction to the church on the topic of congregational worship. Worship is a hot topic within many churches. Everyone has an opinion and a reason why it needs to change. However, many of the elements that make up our worship are not decided by mere preference but have been given to us by God himself. God tells us in the word the means by which he is best worshipped. Following God's instruction concerning his worship not only pleases him most, bringing the greatest amount of glory, but it is immensely beneficial to the faith and lives of those who follow him. The trouble is… his instructions to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, and test all prophecy appear all but impossible, especially when life is rarely sunshine and daisies alone. How then shall I worship God? Come on Sunday and find out.

What does it look like for us as the Church to genuinely love one another? How can we love with all the complexity, nuance, and wisdom it requires? These are important questions when we consider the ongoing failure to trust the Lord in all things in our own hearts. We could simply try harder, but that will only lead to pride in our perceived "success" or fear and sorrow in our failure. This kind of love cannot come from our own effort, but only as we are shaped and sustained in Christ, by the Spirit, through His word. We who are growing in our trust in Christ are those grafted into the vine, and His love begins to grow in us—in joy and sorrow, in comfort and in want—through one another, in rebuke, encouragement, and help, together as the Church. Ultimately, it is through Christ himself, by the Spirit, as we abide in him and in his Word. This alone turns duty into delight. This alone turns obligation into genuine love. And all of this will take place as we, the Church, simply look to Christ.

Imagine that you have just received a text message from your closest friend who lives in a distant country. In the message, they write "Great News! I am planning to travel to Australia to stay with you. I will arrive soon. PS. I cannot be contacted until I see you face to face". Great news indeed! You immediately set your mind to the tasks required to prepare for their arrival. Shampoo the carpet, vacuum the curtains, buy new (living) indoor plants, stock the pantry with Vegemite, etc. At some point, as you write your preparatory list, you ask yourself one very helpful piece of information. Can you guess what it is? When did they say they were going to arrive? What day? What hour? Without this knowledge, your task of preparation must change. But into what? The Church in Thessalonica hope in the return of Christ. It is something that has kept them afloat during the storm of persecution they have weathered. But they have questions and worries. The first question was addressed last week: "What happens to believers who die before Christ returns?" The second question is… "Will we be prepared for the day of the Lord?" This question becomes especially important when Paul's first words say that we will not know what day or hour the Lord will return. Join us on Sunday morning to find out how Paul instructs the Thessalonian Church, and us, as we wait for the glorious day of our Lord's return.

In a letter full of encouragement, Paul now seeks to encourage the Thessalonian believers by applying the truth of Jesus' death, resurrection and return to one of the more trying of experiences for believers; grieving the loss of a beloved sister or brother in the Lord. He wants them to know that all believers will be raised up to be forever with the Lord, whether they have died ('fallen asleep') before his return or not. Those believers who have died before Christ's return will not miss out! Grief with this hope is very different to grief without hope. The hope that Paul is referring to is all the more wonderful because it is firmly based, not on sentimentality or wishful thinking, but in what Jesus has already done for us in dying and rising again. How fitting that we look again at the sure basis of this hope on Easter Sunday. In receiving this word of encouragement to the Thessalonians for ourselves, let our prayer be that our crucified and risen Lord Jesus so grips our hearts that even in times of bereavement we are full of thanksgiving for the hope we have in him of one day all being together with him forever.

As we approach Good Friday, I want us to work out our salvation, as Paul says, with fear and trembling, by asking the question found in the title of the message. "In Whom Do I Trust?" In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus encounters some people who "trusted in themselves that they were righteous". Encountering this, Jesus tells a parable about two men, a Pharisee and a Tax Collector, who go into the temple to pray. The first is more righteous than all others, but it is the second, a sinner, who receives justification. The difference is a matter of whom they place their trust.

The passage before us on Sunday is all about love. Paul, for three chapters, had spoken of what had happened during his brief stay with the Thessalonians. He's talked about how much love they had for him and each other. Knowing God chose them, they continued to show great care and hospitality to one another and broadly to all believers throughout Greece. Paul was desperate, like a loving parent, to see and encourage them so that he could help them in areas where they lacked understanding and address any concerns they may have. What mercy God has shown to call them out of their pagan worship, setting them apart for His glory. Paul urges them to continue in the teaching he freely shared while he was with them; that God's will for them (and us) is that they would be holy. He has made us holy in Christ, given us the Holy Spirit, so that we, who have been sanctified, are in Christ, and we continue to learn who we are in Him. As those in Christ, we do not live like the unbelievers in lustful passion, but we are to love and continue in love. But how? It is through the loving grace of the Father and His enabling of us in the command to love one another. We don't love one another to remain holy; we are holy because of Jesus, and we trust the Father's provision of love for one another.

Looking for some direction in life? Or maybe some affection? Or perhaps you are struggling to live a holy life? Paul's prayer at the end of 1 Thessalonians 3 teaches us where it is we will find the help we are looking for – God! This is the will of God for you, your sanctification! But be assured, he doesn't leave us to our own devices to reach any great heights of holiness. Instead, he has reached down to us in his Son and made us his own holy and beloved children. And so, even as we are instructed how to walk and to please God, like Paul we can pray with confidence that "he may establish our hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints."

In a world where it is easy to be cynical about the shady motives of some Christian leaders and preachers it is refreshing to see how openly Paul expressed his love for those he ministered to. He was not afraid of being vulnerable by opening his heart to them. He was not trying to manipulate through guilt and yet was not afraid of expressing how his sense of joy in ministry was bound up with how they were travelling in the faith. Here there is much to learn about how we relate to others with an open heart in the transparency of the gospel.