In these five verses that we're going through today. And so one thing that I was very interested growing up when I was growing up is different mythology stories. While these are absolutely fictional, they're not real. They do give us an insight into how many different ancient civilizations tried to understand the world and existence around them. When we think of mythology, we think of Greek mythology. Sometimes even Egyptian mythology. But one of the more lesser knowns, maybe we can say that is Norse mythology.
Now you might be saying, "But Pastor Joe, I've watched the Marvel movies. I know there's Thor. I know there's Loki. And there's a guy maybe named Heimdoll. I don't know. But I know all about that." But if I we were to really talk about the details of Norse mythology, not a lot of people know. And one of the more interesting myths in there has to do with the world tree is what they call it. The name of this tree is Eggdrasil. And it is this tree that ties all of the universe in existence together.
The different parts of the tree represent different parts or represent different things. The leaves represent one thing. The branches represent another. But the one that stands out the most to me is the roots. The roots of the tree symbolize fate and destiny. And the allegory is that while the root may twist and turn and go different directions, it'll always find its way towards the water. In the same way, they would say that you can't change your fate or destiny.
In our passage today, we're going to be talking about destiny. But unlike Norse myth where the roots are fake and all of this isn't real, our destiny is rooted in something much more solid and much more important. Our destiny is rooted in God's word and in the truth of Christ. We're going to be reading we're going to be in 1 Thessalonians 3:15 if you want to turn there. But to give a little bit of context to what we're reading, Paul has just come out of the last section that we studied last week, explaining how this church in Thessalonica was essentially his pride and joy.
Paul very clearly loves this church and cares very deeply about them. And through this passage, we are going to see Paul's love for them on display. And through that we are going to get a glimpse into the why Paul's reason why he sent this letter to this church at this time. So that they would be firmly rooted in the faith that they claim. So we're going to read verses 1 to5 here of chapter 3 of 1 Thessalonians.
Therefore, when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone. And we sent Timothy, our brother and God's coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass and just as you know. For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.
So, I want to pause on the first word. Don't worry, we're not going to go through this word by word. It'll be faster than that. But the first word used here in the ESV ESV is therefore. This word is important. It's a transitionary word. It connects the passage that we just read beforehand to the passage after it. So it connects the end of chapter 2 to the beginning of chapter 3. Now when we read the word therefore, there is always a question that we need to ask. We need to ask what is the therefore? Therefore.
All right, let's all do it together. Ready? What is the therefore? Therefore, I am so glad you asked. We have just walked through last week about how Paul cares deeply for this young blossoming church, but he had to leave under pretty unfortunate circumstances. He got pushed out under persecution and wasn't able to disciple this church for as long as he would have wanted. Yet, he calls this church his crown of boasting and his glory and joy. This is a pretty lofty title for a church that he was at for 3 weeks.
This is how Paul thinks of this church, yet he can't be there with them. And Paul almost treats this church like his own child. And when he is forced to be separated from them, it causes him this deep anguish in his heart. This is why the therefore is there. He is saying, I care about you so much. We just talked about that. Therefore, I need to do something about it. I needed to make sure that you guys are okay. He wanted to go to this church so badly, but he kept getting hindered.
And eventually his worry bubbled over. And he said, "You know what? If I can't go, we're sending that guy." And Timothy standing there like, "I I guess I'll go." And young Timothy was sent in Paul'sstead to check up on the Thessalonian church. But here's the thing. Paul didn't send Timothy for no reason. It wasn't a wellness check. It wasn't just to have coffee and say hello. Paul sent Timothy to ensure that this church was firmly fixed in their faith.
So, we have a few gardeners in our mix here. And my wife is a gardener. I try and be a gardener. I'm real bad. The only thing I grew was onions last year. And even then I grew one. So, but when you go to the tree, you go and you look for the nicest tree, you find one has beautiful leaves, beautiful fruit. You pick it up. You love this tree. You name it Gregory. You take Gregory to your tree garden that you have for some reason.
And you place Gregory gently on the ground. You take a step back with as much care as you can. You say, "Okay, Gregory, grow." How much is Gregory going to grow? Not a lick. You know why? Because he's on top of the ground. In order to make a tree grow, you need to dig a hole and you need to get the tree in the hole so that its roots can go down and it can grow. If something doesn't have roots, it doesn't grow. This is the same with us.
And this is the thrust of why Paul is sending Timothy here in the first place. He had to leave in a hurry. He got run out of town by angry Jews. And he needs to make sure that this church has roots. But we need to look at this Timothy guy because he's not just some guy. He much like the Thessalonian church was someone that Paul cared deeply about. 1 Timothy 1 vers2 in in that passage Paul refers to him as his true child in the faith.
And in 2 Timothy 1:2 just one book later he refers to Timothy as his beloved child. But he wasn't just somebody that Paul cared about deeply. He also clearly had some giftings in this area. If we look closely at verse two of our passage, it describes Timothy as our brother and God's coworker. Catch that. It's not Paul's coworker. It's not Silas's coworker. It's God's coworker.
It's a fascinating statement. Now, I want to get something clear right off the hop. Just because Timothy is considered God's coworker doesn't mean he gets any credit for the work. There was an event we I went to a few weeks ago, a Christian event, and there was a great speaker and everything, but there was some music time and that music was a little less than ideal. And one of the songs that really stuck out, the refrain was like sorry, the refrain was God, you do the rest.
And so it's this idea of I bring my part and God you do the rest. That sounds really good, but is incredibly false. If we were to reward that correctly, it would be God, I've done nothing. You do it all. Because God has done all the work in our salvation. To say that we had a part to play is to say that we actually had a part to play in our salvation. We were able to save ourselves a little bit.
The truth is it wasn't 10% us and 90% God. It wasn't 0.1% us and 99.9% us. It was 0% us and 100% God. We cannot say to God, okay, I've done my part. Now you pick up where I left off. It is God, you have done it all. The only thing that we brought to our salvation is the sin that made it necessary. But there's probably still the question out there of, well, why is Timothy referred to God's coworker here?
What does that mean? And it's a good question because when we think of a normal proper co-worker relationship, there would be a dividing of the work. When Vincent and Walker show up to the offices here, I expect that they are dividing the work. They're dividing and conquering. I don't know cuz may I see Vincent drinking a lot of coffee over there. I'm kidding. They both work very hard on those offices over there. But this isn't how it works in God's economy. The Greek word for co-orker is synergos.
It's the same word we get our word synergy from and it is literally translated fellow worker. Paul uses this word many times throughout his letters talking about actual people he worked with in his ministry. Phoebe, Titicus, Priscilla and Aquilla. All of these are talked about in Romans 16 and they are his fellow workers. But another critical passage is 1 Corinthians 3. 1 Corinthians 3 and the beginning of this passage. You can turn there if you like. Paul is rebuking the Corinthian church.
What they are doing is they are gathering in different camps under these people. There's the camp of Paul and the camp of Apollos and the camp of whoever else. And Paul is saying, "Let it not be this way. We're all on the same team. Don't be divided over this." And then he says in verse 9, for we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building. Here he is saying that we had to work. And he says here that Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God ultimately brought the growth.
God is the one that powers the work. Without the Lord's power behind anything, nothing would happen. We as the workers are the hull of a machine. God is the engine that makes it move. Without the engine, it can't do anything. It's just a hull. We are God's co co-workers, but God gets all the credit for anything happening. Psalm 127 verse1 is the inspiration of my favorite verse in all glory be to Christ.
And that verse is, "Oh you who boast tomorrow's gain, tell me what is your life? Unless the Lord doth raise the house, in vain the builder strive." The builders have to strive, but the Lord's not in it, the work's not getting done. This is exactly what being God's coworker means. And all this is to say that Paul wasn't just sending some Joe Schmo off the street. He was sending a guy who was qualified to minister to them.
He was sending a man who was dedicated to the work of God. But he sent him for a very specific and important reason so that they would be established and exhorted in their faith. When you look up the definition of these words, to establish means to strengthen or to build up. To exhort means to encourage or comfort. The this is the the apostles desire for these churches that they be encouraged, built up, strengthened.
And he could not bear to watch them flounder. He cared so much that he went to great lengths to make sure that this church was strengthened and comfort in their comforted in their faith. He he said, "I want to make sure that your faith is solid." In other words, I want to make sure that you have roots, roots that are deep and strong, giving life to the tree, giving life to the church. This is Paul's desire for many of the churches that he ministered to. It says in it he says it to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:12 to the Colossian church in the passage that Dave read in Colossians 2:7 says being rooted and established and strengthened and built up in faith.
In Colossians 4:8 he says it to the Roman church in Romans 1:1 Paul makes sure that those who he is ministering to are firmly planted in the faith that they have claimed. And this right here, the assurance that this church is fixed in their faith is the outpouring of Paul's care for them. Because the reality is he could do all of the pastoral visitations in the world.
He could spend years trying to encourage them with worldly wisdom and philosophy. He could give them all the gifts he could muster. He could write a letter every day for the rest of his life to this church and none of it would matter if he's not guiding them here to the word of God. This is our desire as pastors and elders too. Our primary goal is not to make you feel happy. Our primary goal is not to make you a better person.
Our primary goal is that you know this word because this word can do a better job at all of that than we ever could. It is the thing that can strengthen you. It is the thing that gives you joy, allows you to be sanctified, allows you to be a better person, to have happiness and joy in this world. It comes from from being rooted in the word and in faith. We might try, but we're going to fail if we're not leading you here. Pointing to the people that you love the most to the word is some of the most loving things that you can do.
How encouraging is it when someone you care about and you know cares about you asks you how your relationship and walk with the Lord is doing and you can tell they mean it. When you can tell they they care about you because they care about their your relationship with the Lord because that is the most important thing. This is the most loving thing that you can do for others is to push each other to grow deeper in faith to make sure that that brother or sister has roots firmly established upon the rock of Christ not on the sand.
Because the truth is the winds are coming. The hurricane of life is coming for every single one of us. It may have already. Am I not? It's probably coming if not coming again. Paul is concerned about the faith of this church for a reason. Because he wants them to stay steadfast despite suffering. Studying this passage took me down a bit of a rabbit hole of studying trees. And man, redwood trees are fascinating.
If you don't know what these what these guys are, they are some of the tallest trees in the world. They can get up to 300 feet tall. It's taller than the Statue of Liberty. It's taller than the Eiffel Tower. It's taller than Big Ben. These are some big trees. But if you know anything about physics, if something is tall and skinny, wind is its worst enemy. If you look at the cell towers that are out that way, they'll have four wires that attach the top and go to the ground. Why? Because if any wind came, that thing would topple over. So, it makes sense that redwood trees would have some sort of thing holding them up.
And our first thought is, man, they must have some crazy deep roots. You'd be wrong. Redwood trees only have roots that are about six feet deep. That's about 2% of the the height of the tree. So, how does this tree stay up? Well, what the tree these trees do is in these forests, the redwood roots grow out incredibly wide. And since they're all together, these roots ended up getting intertwined with each other to the point where they're all knotted and hooking on to each other.
So when the winds come, the wind's not fighting against one tree. It's fighting against the whole forest. And so these trees don't topple over. They don't budge because their roots are deep and interconnected. We need to be the same because friends, the storm is coming. The scripture guarantees it. Let's reread verse three and four of 1 Thessalonians 3. Says, "Let no one be moved by these afflictions.
For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction just as it has come to pass, just as you know." Paul desired that no one would be moved by these afflictions or these sufferings that they would persevere in the midst of difficult times. Paul knew that these sufferings were coming. He experienced them. He knows exactly what they're going to run into. And what he says, I think, is just a stunning statement to use Bryce's vernacular.
That they were destined for this. That's not very seeker friendly. Hey, try that next time you evangelize. Come to Jesus. You're destined to suffer. Make that a bumper sticker. Paint it across the side of your house and watch the profound confusion of people. You know, Doritos isn't going to put that as their slogan on their bag. No, that doesn't sound good. So, why would we use it? When we think of destiny, we think of things that are in the positive. You're destined to succeed.
You're destined to be something. You're destined to go far. You know what that term is used in the negative? Doomed. You're doomed to suffer. You're doomed to go under trial. So what it doesn't make sense that Paul would use destined in this negative term. How are we destined to suffer? How is that a good and positive thing? The Greek word ki literally means to be set in place. You have been set in place for this suffering. This is purposeful.
So why? Because for the believer, suffering produces so much good. Romans 8:36 layers on this that were destined for this. It says, "For your sake, we are being killed all day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." Showing that this is something that we shouldn't be s surprised by. We are destined for this. John 15:18 says that the world hates you because it hated Christ first. This hate is sure but the suffering is good.
Look at James 1:es 2 to4 which says count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds. Joy in the face of trials that's not a normal reaction. Why? Because you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing. Romans 5:es 3-5 says not only that we but we rejoice in our sufferings knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope and hope does not put us to shame.
This suffering is destiny because it pro produces hope and endurance in the believer that they could stay steadfast in suffering. Paul knows this and believes it. He sees that this church was that he was with for just three weeks. He knows the suffering they will go through. He's experienced it and he says this is your destiny and it's going to produce so much good in you. So don't run from it. But it brings us all the way back to our first point.
They need roots if they are going to get through this. Trees don't stand tall if they're just sitting on top of the ground. Gregory is going to get blown away by a hurricane. You need to be planted deeply in the word because when you read the word and you understand the word, you can say, "I can get through this because I know Christ who went through the suffering first." He went to the cross in ourstead, paid for our sins so that we can have hope in the midst of trial.
One of the sayings that I've heard people say in some of the lowest points of their life is all hope is gone. And I'm not going to lie, I I can't stand that phrase because there has been never been anything so unfactual in life. 1 Peter 1:3 says, "Blessed be the God of our fa God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Jesus Christ from the dead. As long as there is the gospel, there is hope. As long as Jesus is on the throne, there is hope. As long as the this world is temporary and heaven is forever, there is hope. And as long as Jesus is savior, then hell is defeated and then life is available and hope abounds. This is the best news because heaven's not going to pass away. Jesus is not going to step off the throne. Hope is eternal because of this.
Now, you may be sitting here going through the hardest point of your life. Maybe someone who was close to you has passed away. Maybe your marriage is falling apart. Maybe you're in financial ruin. Maybe your family relationships are tense. Hope in Christ because that hope is not dead in the valleys of life.
Some of you may be sitting here in the best times of your life. To you, I say even more emphatically, hope in Christ. Because it's so easy to lose sight of Christ when you get the view from the top of the mountain. Don't start hoping in the view. Hope in Christ because he's going to be there. Whether you're on the mountain or you're in the valley, the view's not going to be there. Now is the time to practice. Things are good, hope in Christ. Cuz when things are bad, you're going to need it more than you ever have.
The valleys are going to come, but Christ will always be there. So this suffering that Paul knows we are destined for is the reason that he sent Timothy out to this church. The suffering is the reason why we need to be established in faith. But is also because we have an enemy who wants to see us fall. Verse five of her passage says this. For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.
Paul here is showing his worry for the church once again. He sees himself as a spiritual parent to these Thessalonians and he is keenly aware that without him there they are vulnerable. So this is the second reason why Paul wants to make sure that these Thessalonians and in turn us are firmly established in in their faith so that they can be tenacious through temptation. It does not take long in the Christian life to see that there are many things in our life that would like to lure us away from serving Jesus and following him.
We have the world as a whole that would like to see us stop following Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:13 3:12 puts it very plainly when it says indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. We also have our own sinful flesh which we must battle every day as it tries to get us to satisfy our own sinful desires and stop serving Christ. Romans 13:14 says, "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires."
But our primary adversary is the one who Paul calls the tempter here. He is the one who we are battling against every day. And the scripture speaks plainly to that. Ephesians 6:12 says, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." 1 Peter 5:8 says that the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking who he may devour.
The devil, the tempter, is often not a violent adversary. He won't hit you with in-your-face attacks. He prowls. Ephesians 6:11, the verse before the one we just read, calls the devil's antics schemes. John 8 vers44 calls the devil the father of lies. He is a scheming, lying, calculated enemy who is trying to make you falter and trying to tempt you away from the faith you claim and destroy you and everything around you.
Trying to lure you away with things that feel good but will never satisfy. He'll dangle the carrot of money, lust, substances, envy, rage, whatever it takes to get your eyes off of God and onto you. This reality that we have an enemy who desires our demise causes Paul to double down even more on the fact that the Thessalonians need to be firmly set on the cornerstone of Christ. That when the reality of temptation comes, you will be immovable in your convictions, that you would be able to see through the haze that comes with temptation and see Christ as your marker and walk with tenacity towards him, unwavering, unwaveringly pursuing the God who did the exact same walk for you.
I love Isaiah 50:7 and it says, "He set his face like flint." Flint is a hard rock. He is unmoving in his convictions to go and die for the sins of all men. He did not succumb to any temptation set before him. May we be so deep in faith, so mature in our walk with God that when the floor comes out from under you and the enemy is hitting you with every temptation, every bit of bad news, every single thing that life is just falling apart that you have the same attitude as King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 10:20, which says, "Lord, I do not know what to do, but my eyes are on knew that we would not be pulled away by this world.
We think of Tumblr Ridge. Look to Christ. We think of all the evil in our world. Look to Christ. In the midst of your struggle, look to Jesus. So, my friends, if this hasn't been your desire, now is the time to get rooted. Now is the time to get deeper in faith than you ever have before because the winds are coming. Your destiny is coming. Get rooted in faith.
We are destined to suffer. But the joy is that we are also destined to be victorious in that battle against suffering because Christ has won the war. If you are here and this defines your life, you are rooted in the scripture. Awesome. Start desiring it in everyone around you. Start seeing that everyone be established in faith like that forest we hold together. Be sure that we all have deep roots that we won't let a brother or sister fall. Making sure that everyone is established and exhorted and rooted in their faith, too.
Paul couldn't he couldn't wait. He couldn't bear it any longer. He had to make sure that they were firmly planted. And so to close today, I don't have a fancy illustration about trees, but I do have the beginning of Psalm 1. I'd like you all to turn there with me. I'm just going to read the first three verses. Says, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does he prospers. Dear God, I thank you so much for this day and this encouraging passage. Lord, we know that you are sovereign over all. That you went to the cross and defeated sin. Sin and the devil are a defeated enemy. But Lord, we know that there is still trials and suffering in this life.
Give us strength. Help us to be rooted deeply in our faith that we are established, immovable. Lord, help us to be that for others in our lives. That we would look to others and seek to strengthen them to share the good news of Christ and the knowledge of you. That we would be unshakable. Help us through temptation. Give us a more of a desire for you every single day.
And Lord, help us to glorify and worship you with all we do. May it not be about us. May it be fully about you and the work that we've done. May we celebrate that every morning and every evening and every day. Thank you so much for who you are, for your immense grace and your immense love. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.
Transcribed automatically from YouTube captions, so names and words may be misheard.
