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FAITH, LOVE, HOPE

Paul’s First Letter, Part 1

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

January 7, 2007

Pastor Bob Sanders

The year is 51 A.D.  In the Greek city of Corinth, the apostle Paul writes a letter that many scholars believe is the earliest of his New Testament epistles.  He writes to a small, fragile new church development up in Thessalonica, the principal city of Macedonia.

Several months earlier, Paul had been there.  Acts 17 tells us that on one of his missionary journeys Paul came to the synagogue in Thessalonica and taught from the Old Testament Scriptures, proclaiming that the Messiah was none other than the crucified and risen Jesus.  Some of the Thessalonians were convinced, and began to meet further with Paul.  But others rejected his message, and they got so upset about it they formed a mob and Paul was forced to flee the city for his own safety, leaving these brand-new believers to go it alone.

Paul is extremely anxious about them.  So he writes this letter – a letter of instruction but also a letter of encouragement.  Encouragement, as I often remind you, means to put courage into someone.  That’s what Paul is trying to do in this letter: put courage into a group of people who have every reason to be discouraged.  As we read the first chapter, listen for his tone of gratitude, affection and above all affirmation:

1 Paul, Silas and Timothy,
       To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
       Grace and peace to you.

    2 We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

    4 For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what happened when we visited you. They tell how you 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 rescues us from the coming wrath.

Affirmation

Paul establishes a pattern here, a pattern he will repeat in almost every one of his letters.  The pattern is this: immediately after the opening greeting he heaps up expressions of thanksgiving and praise for the good things God is doing in that church.  That is to say, Paul majors on affirmation.  Listen once again to verses 2 and 3:

We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.  We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

I remember seeing a person wearing a T-shirt that proudly announced: I MAY NOT BE PERFECT, BUT PARTS OF ME ARE EXCELLENT.  Roughly speaking, that’s how Paul views the Thessalonian church.  They certainly aren’t perfect.  Anybody can see that.  Here’s a church full of rookies, brand new converts who were complete pagans, many of them, until a month or so ago.  A church with no trained leaders and almost no biblical background.  A church (as we’ll see later) that faces serious theological and moral problems on the inside and serious opposition from the outside. 

Paul could easily begin this letter with a few constructive criticisms, followed by recommendations for improvement.  But notice how he begins instead in verse 2: “We always thank God for all of you. . .”  Paul knows that people facing tough times need affirmation, not criticism.  People in crisis need praise, not pressure to improve.  People in the midst of conflict need someone to put courage into them, not drain away what little courage they have left.  The actress Celeste Holm put it very well when she said these words: “We live by encouragement, and die without it – slowly, sadly, and angrily.”  Paul knows this, and so he begins his letter majoring on affirmation, encouraging these new believers. 

I’m convinced that one of the marks of a maturing Christian is the habit of affirming others.  The men and women I know who are growing in grace are affirmers.  And affirmation, basically, has two steps.  First, we recognize the good in someone, and, second, we report it.  We recognize the good – that is, we look for the good things God is doing in another person.  And then we report it.  We use words and tell the other person about the good we’ve recognized.  It does no good to recognize what a wonderful job your spouse is doing if you don’t report it.  It does no good to be proud of my daughter unless I tell her about it. 

Never underestimate the power of affirmation.  A Japanese proverb says, “One kind word can warm three winter months.”  I’ve told you before about the folder I keep in my desk drawer where I file away any words of affirmation I receive.  And some days, when I’m feeling especially worthless as a pastor or human being, I take out that folder and read some of those words.  I understand what Mark Twain meant when he said, “I can go for two weeks on one compliment.” 

Unfortunately, many people go for months and years without ever getting an affirmation.  All they ever get is criticism.  Or silence.  Many suffer from a chronic sense of worthlessness in part because no one ever bothers to recognize and report the good, the positive, the blessed that is in them. 

Are you an affirmer?  Or are you the one who always spots what’s lacking, what’s wrong, what’s less than ideal?  Let’s face it: most of us were trained from grade school to be critical, to call attention to the problems and take for granted the successes.  Our approach is “If things are going well, say nothing.  But if something goes wrong, speak up – loudly.” 

Paul has a different strategy.  He doesn’t start out calling attention to what could be done better in the Thessalonian church.  It would take no great skill to see what needs improvement.  But Paul chooses to recognize and report the good God is already doing in and through these imperfect believers.  When was the last time you did that?  When was the last time you affirmed the people God has put into your life?  Your spouse, your children, your parents, your colleagues, your friends?  If you can’t remember, you might want to pay close attention to Paul’s example and develop the habit of affirmation.

Three Cardinal Virtues

Paul affirms them in so many ways.  He reassures them that they belong to God, that God himself has chosen them.  He reminds them of how they received the gospel message he brought them, and how that message has rung out from them around the region.  But I want us to look at three specific things Paul recognizes and reports.  Look at verse 3 where he says, “We remember before our God and Father you work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Underneath the problems in this ragged church Paul sees evidence of the three cardinal virtues of the Christian life: faith, love, and hope.  The Thessalonian church may not be perfect, but these parts are excellent, and so Paul begins, “We remember your work produced by faith.”  These new believers walked their talk.  Their faith in Christ showed up in works of mercy and compassion, in acts of generosity and servanthood.  Paul recognizes this and affirms them for this faith that works, that gets involved, that makes a concrete difference.

Not only that, Paul affirms their “labor prompted by love.”  These new believers are surrounded by hatred and hostility, but they responded with love.  Not a sentimental love measured by warm, fuzzy feelings.  The word Paul uses is agape – tough love that labors, Christ-like love that lays down its life.  Real love always takes labor, doesn’t it?  Anyone who’s tried to love a spouse going through a midlife crisis, or a kid going through adolescence, or a church going through tough times – anyone who’s tried to do that knows why Paul calls it a labor of love.

And the third affirmation: “your endurance inspired by hope.”  In spite of persecution, these new Christians weren’t about to quit.  That had a hope in Christ that endured, a staying power that persevered through the hard times.  These Thessalonians Christians believed that no matter what happened, nothing could separate them from the love of God in Jesus Christ.  And that gave them a hope that endured.

Looking Back

Unlike the Thessalonians, we are not a brand-new church.  Lake Grove Presbyterian has been around for over 80 years.  On this first Sunday of the new year I’d like to follow Paul’s example for a moment.  Yes, there are lots of needs in this congregation.  Lots of areas we’d like to improve.  But what I want to do is to recognize and report some of the truly good things God has been doing in and through this congregation.  I asked members of our staff to take a look at what been happening here at Lake Grove over the past year.  Let me share with you just some of what we discovered.  This isn’t an all-inclusive list.  There’s lots more going on than I have time to report.  But here are a few things that I’d like to affirm. 

Let’s start with finances.  This past fall you pledged over $2,185,000 to help fund our 2007 budget.  That’s a 7.5 percent increase over last year.  Which is great.  But did you know that over the past five years the total amount you’ve pledged and given has increased by some 50 percent?  That’s worth recognizing and reporting, I think.

Then there are our special mission offerings, over and above our regular giving.  In the spring at our Pentecost offering you gave over $10,000 for Gulf Coast hurricane relief.  Then in early summer you gave nearly $75,000 to support our partnership in Zambia ($25,000 came in a single concert offering).  In October you gave another $40,000 to help provide clean water around the world.  And this past Christmas Eve, you gave over $13,000 to help needy children in our own area.  Over Christmas you also provided gifts through the Angel Tree program to 175 children in 60 families, as well as nearly $5,000 for summer camp scholarships.  And you donated nearly $10,000 for Care and Share, and delivered food baskets to some 120 families in the area. 

Before I leave the money totals, let me add that our youth raised $12,000 during their 30-Hour Famine last spring.  If you do the math, all that totals over $165,000.  But, as I say, this isn’t a comprehensive list.  The actual total you gave in 2006 for local and international mission (over and above our regular church budget) comes to some $318,000.  

That doesn’t include more than $120,000 worth of food through our Manna Ministries – food donated by our local New Seasons Market and distributed by our members to agencies and families all over the area.  And it certainly doesn’t include a significant contribution from our Federal government.  This last November the Department of Housing and Development awarded a grant to our church of $4.8 million to build a 45-unit housing complex for local low-income seniors. 

Let’s talk about people.  You see the remarkable growth in the Sanctuary Choir on Sundays.  But you probably didn’t know that this past year we’ve had over 150 people get newly involved in adult education classes.  Or that more than 100 people are teaching our children in Sunday School classes each week.  Or that 210 men and 250 women took part in our Advent celebrations last month, and many of them were friends invited to this church for the first time.

Let’s talk about mission teams.  This past year we sent out over 160 adults and youth on mission teams to places like Woodburn (just down the road), to the Gulf Coast, to Tijuana, to Senegal and Zambia.  But mission goes on right here, too.  Did you know that every time we celebrate Communion teams of people take the Lord’s Supper into the homes of our members who cannot make it here on Sunday mornings?  We average about 7 teams each month, serving over 35 people, in addition to the visitor teams who regularly call on our homebound members.  And while we’re talking about people, let’s not forget the more than 400 children around the world sponsored by different ones of you throughout the year. 

And, finally, here’s a personal favorite: this past year over 25 middle high and senior high youth have committed or recommitted their lives to Jesus Christ (Jim and Kathleen tell me it may be as many as 50).

Giving God the Glory

See, the most important affirmation we can make about this church is that it’s God’s church.  And everything I’ve just mentioned is evidence of what God has been doing.  So the credit doesn’t belong with us.  This isn’t an exercise in self-congratulation.  It’s about giving God the glory, giving God the praise, giving God the credit for what he has done.  Look back one last time at our Scripture passage.  There are just ten verses there, but Paul manages to mention God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit over fifteen times.  Everything that has happened in and through these Thessalonians is a result of God’s work – God’s calling, God’s message, God’s power, God’s salvation. 

And everything that has happened in and through this congregation is a result of that same God, the God who has claimed us and called us and kept us in Jesus Christ our Lord.  And the most important thing we can do in this new year is keep our eyes on him, keep learning of him, keep giving ourselves in trust to him, keep serving and following him.

May God grant that as individuals and as a congregation we become more and more like these Thessalonian believers.  Not perfect.  But having some truly excellent parts.  Faith that works.  Love that labors.  Hope that endures.  All in the name of Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be all the glory, all the honor, all the praise.  Amen.