A DESIRE TO SEE YOU
Notes
Transcript
I. A GREAT DESIRE
I. A GREAT DESIRE
A. 1 Thessalonians 2:17–20 (ESV) — 17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us.
17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. 19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy.
B. Paul has been reinforcing all that was accomplished in the lives of the believers in Thessalonica in the previous verses.
C. 1 Thessalonians 2:7–8 (ESV) — 7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
D. I remind you of the familial terms used by Paul to describe the care they had for the church. “like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.”
E. 1 Thessalonians 2:11–12 (ESV) — 11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
F. Here he expresses the care show to the believers like that of a father caring for his children with exhortation, encouragement, and bore testimony to the need to walk in a manner worthy of God.
G. Exhorting: The apostle referred to coming alongside children for the purpose of aiding, directing, and instructing wisely as a source of character conduct.[1]
H. Encouraging (paramutheomai), meaning to encourage in the sense of comfort and consolation, is so critical in assisting toward spiritual growth because of the many obstacles and failures Christians can experience. [2]
I. Charge: imploring them to live life in light of who they now are in Christ Jesus.
J. It is in light of this type of loving commitment we hear Paul say, “17…we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you – I Paul, again and again – but Satan hindered us.”
K. They had been torn away from the Thessalonians, but Paul says, “…in person not in heart” or as we would say, “Out of sight, not out of mind”.
L. The word for torn has our word ‘orphan’ in it.
M. It was a separation that could lead to being conceived as a permanent separation or to be orphaned, having your parents die and leaving you alone or having your parents abandon you.
N. Paul wants them to know this is not the case.
O. Paul uses a word for torn away that means “to be orphaned.” Being separated from the believers makes him feel like a doting parent who has lost a child. As Paul sees it, the church is the furthest thing from a corporate business entity; it is a family knit together by Christian love. [3]
P. “…we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you…”
Q. The enemy, Satan, hindered them from going back to Thessalonica. We don’t know how he hindered them, only that he did.
R. Sometimes you must really labor to insure the weak in faith or babes in Christ know that they are loved.
II. THEY ARE TREASURED
II. THEY ARE TREASURED
A. 1 Thessalonians 2:19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy.
19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?
B. Paul says they are his glory and joy. They are the fruit of Paul’s labors and would be with him in eternity.
C. But he had concern about the work of the enemy as we will see next week.
D. 2 Corinthians 11:2–3 (ESV) — 2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
E. He would labor to present them complete in Christ Jesus as was his stated mission.
F. Colossians 1:27–29 (ESV) — 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
G. Paul looked forward to the return of Christ at the end of this age with even more fervor than Roman citizens awaited their ruler, and he understood that the fruit of his salvation, the crown that he would lay before Jesus, was none other than these dearly beloved believers, who were therefore Paul’s “glory and joy” (1 Thess. 2:20). So it will be for every other believer, each according to our gifts and calling, that the stewardship entrusted to us in marriage, in families, in the church, and in the world constitutes the precious opportunity we have to glorify Jesus Christ and to present him at his coming with the harvest yield he deserves from our lives.[4]
H. We are the treasured possession of our God and Father (Deut. 7:6; 1 Peter 2:9-10).
I. May our church exemplify the unity that comes from love knitting our hearts together.
J. So Paul encouraged the Thessalonians with the truth that he did love them, evidenced by his desire to see them, the supernatural opposition it took to keep him away, and his view of heaven in which they would be central to his eternal joy. They also were his glory, which is the true honor bestowed on him by God, who used him to reach them.[5]
[1] MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2002). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (p. 51). Chicago: Moody Press.
[2] MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2002). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (p. 51). Chicago: Moody Press.
[3] Phillips, R. D. (2015). 1 & 2 Thessalonians. (R. D. Phillips, P. G. Ryken, & D. M. Doriani, Eds.) (pp. 87–88). Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.
[4]Phillips, R. D. (2015). 1 & 2 Thessalonians. (R. D. Phillips, P. G. Ryken, & D. M. Doriani, Eds.) (p. 89). Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.
[5] MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2002). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (p. 74). Chicago: Moody Press.