Three Prayer Requests - 11

Text today is the last three verses of first Thessalonians chapter 3 fortresses I mentioned the conclusion of the chapter really the conclusion of the first section of this epistle.

At first glance, we would consider these verses to be a prayer and expansion of the prayer that is mentioned in verse 10 where Paul tells the Thessalonians that he is praying for them. Now in verse 11 through 13 we find a fuller description of that rare, but as we look at it more carefully.

We realize that these verses are not a prayer. As such, but they are description of the prayers that Paul has been praying for the Thessalonians. In other words, these words are not addressed to God they are addressed to the Thessalonians, but is telling the Thessalonians. The words that he does address to God getting an insight into the life of the apostle Paul, as he prays for others and here, particularly as he prays for the Thessalonians. So these verses cause us to focus our attention upon the subject of prayer what is prayer and I think we have some concept of prayer. Prayer is worship prayer is prays prayer is Thanksgiving prayer is confession of our sins. Prayer is petition to lay our request before the throne of grace with prayer is something else that we often do not consider that is prayer is instruction that is public prayers as we listen to others, pray as we listen to mature Christians pray were not only enter into worship with them in their prayers and address that's what you do, but we also are reminded of great truths we are instructed about God.

We are instructed in theology we are instructed in the truths of Scripture as we listen to these prayer we can learn much Bible truth by listening to godly prayers and in this particular prayer. Paul prays for three things. Number one renewed fellowship in verse 11, number two increase love in verse 12, number three, practical holiness in verse 13. These are his three prayer requests that he prays for the Thessalonian believers and we can learn a lot from these and so let's take them up one by one is first prayer request doesn't sound very much like the prayer requested. We often mentioned in our prayer meetings, but his first prayer request is this now may our God and father himself and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you is not surprising. We heard Paul earlier lament the fact that he was not able to get back to visit them as much as he wanted to, we heard about his anxiety for their condition because he couldn't check on them and learn exactly what they are condition was in relationship to their faith in Jesus Christ and there relationship to Paul to his ministry among them. We've learned that he sent Timothy back to visit them into evaluate their spiritual condition to report back to Paul concerning that and yet Paul still desires himself to go and to be with them and so we are not surprised that he prays that that may be allowed to God may cause that to happen that our God and father himself and our Lord Jesus Christ may direct our way to you, but if we look at these words of petition about renewed fellowship with the Thessalonian believers. There are some important matters that we can learn about. We can learn something about God the father, we can learn something about God the son, we can learn something about the apostle Paul and we begin by noticing what we learn about God the father now may our God and father himself to titles to names by which to identify the one true divine being, God and father to titles that are united in the original Greek by one article which ties them together.

We see to it yet, Paul wants us to understand the two are one God and the father are the same.

These are two aspects of one being in one way of looking at this divine being key is God and all that that entails all that that means all that that reveals to us about the creator of this universe. He is God. Then in another way of looking at this one at least four Christians. He is father or heavenly father.

He who is God Almighty God high and lifted up dwelling in unapproachable light so holy that no one can approach to him without a righteousness which none of us tab and only God can supply this one who is eternal who said no beginning and no ending. This one who was all-powerful. This one who spoke in the world's came into existence.

This one who knows all the things this one was everywhere present at once in all this universe, this one is Almighty God is also at the same time. Father father who art in heaven, this intimate relationship which believers have with God through grace to be able to approach such a God.

Such a magnificent and unapproachable God. Such a high and holy God that we could never fully comprehend and yet to be able to draw into his presence with enough comprehension to know that he is our father and that he delights in having a relationship with us and that he hears our petitions and he attends on to our needs. This intimate family relationship Christians have with God Almighty.

Paul prays it may God and father himself and himself is in the original language both emphatic and intensive emphatic because of its position in the sentence is the first word in the sentence, which makes it emphatic in intensity because that reflexive form himself, which can be either reflexive or intensive is obviously in this case intensive, which simply means that only God can do this. Paul is praying to God to do something that only God can do very God and the father of our Lord Jesus Christ himself direct our way to you because if he doesn't do it, it won't be done if he doesn't do it, it can't be done. He's already talked about the great obstacles that have come across his path and his endeavor to get back to them. Remember that how he has been unable to visit them how Satan has stopped him from doing that.

That's back in chapter 2, verse 18. Therefore, we wanted to come to you, Eli, Paul, time and again, but Satan tendered us all is recognizing by this that he's no match for Satan. He can't overcome the power of Satan else can overcome the power Satan but there is one who can that one is at the same time, Almighty God, and that's why he can overcome the power of Satan. And he is also our father so we come as little children to him and was a daddy, please help me please do for me what only you can do a God and the father of our Lord Jesus Christ himself direct our way to you.

So what we learn about God the father.

He was majestic beyond comprehension is intimate with his dear children, he is able to defeat Satan accomplish that which no one else can do and he is our God, did you notice that personal chloro pronoun now may our God and father himself and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. He is our God through grace he is our God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our God. As children of God born again ones is he your God not only what we learn about God, the father of what we learn about God the son that God our father himself and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you, our Lord Jesus Christ in the identified may be excused in giving you. In this case the literal Greek rendering it is the Lord of us, Jesus may the Lord of us. Jesus, in other words this man Jesus is Lord we have a duality here like God the father.

The father is God Almighty and he is father but the son is Lord, which, in its ultimate says means God. He is God Almighty, but he is Jesus the man we find both of these here the man Jesus is Lord, the man Jesus is God. This is amazing and he is if you will notice carefully the co-recipient of this petition. Paul pays employees to God the father and to our Lord Jesus Christ, he is addressing both of them equally.

In this petition. He is directing his petition his request to both of them alike, and of course we know as Christians that prayer is properly addressed only to who to God. We don't pray to anyone but God is blasphemy to pray to anyone but God.

So if Paul is praying to our Lord Jesus Christ. Then he is acknowledging that Jesus is God, so both by that phrase.

The Lord Jesus, which indicates his deity and also buying the way he presents his petition. We know that Paul believes that Jesus is God, because to address Jesus equally with the father is to ascribe deity to him in theological terms, we would say that Paul has a high view of Jesus Christ. The highest possible view.

Some have what is sometimes called a low low view of Christ. They do not ascribe to him deity. They don't believe that he is virgin born.

They don't believe that he really performed. These miracles are not a ghost with some people who still say they they honor Christ they believe in Christ, but they have what theologians properly call the low view of Christ.

But if you come to Scripture you will find that the flag nothing but the highest possible views of Christ and it's clear here that Paul has the highest view of Christ that anyone could have. Jesus Christ is Lord Jesus Christ is God our petitions in prayer go as much to Jesus as they do God, the heavenly father. That's what we learn about God the son thoroughly. In this first petition, what do we learn about the apostle Paul when he prays that God the father of the Lord Jesus Christ. My direct our way to you. My direct some translations might have clear that he might clear the way to you.

That is make a straight path. Remove the obstacles out of the path. Anything that blocks the path that he may direct.

And here again we just can't get away from it would run into it over and over again we learn that directly, we note the direct is a singular verb, though it has a plural subject. It's not so clear of the English but again take my word for it, and I'm taking others word for it. Those who are students of the Greek language clearly have a plural subject we have God the father and the Lord Jesus Christ these two persons who are yet one glorious being in the mystery of the Trinity, but in joining together these two persons in his petition, his petition, the verb in his petition is the singular for not the plural form, they are one being. It is one God, God the father and Jesus the son are one, even though they are to say, I can understand that joy the club.

Nobody can understand. Nobody understands its a mystery. One of many mysteries about God that is beyond our human comprehension. But it is revealed truth and so we don't understand we do believe it because God is revealed to us. We don't understand that we don't have to understand God fully to receive what he has given. We don't have to understand everything about God in order to believe what is told us about himself. We don't have to understand everything about the Bible to receive the word that is given to us and to believe it is one reason why accepting it is called faith and it's not faith that is that is a leap in the dark. It is faith that is based upon divine revelation, but it is faith that recognizes that we don't comprehend all these fully all these things fully, but we don't have to accept them like children. He is our father. Daddy, I don't understand this, but I believe it because you said it is my daddy tells me it's so, then I believe it yet inhuman term. Sometimes that fails when it comes to our heavenly father. There is never any error. There is never any mistake. There's never any whoops I didn't understand that, or I misspoke that that never happens when our heavenly father speaks we can take that as absolute truth and here is another indication of the deity of Christ, one singular verb with a plural subject.

May God direct his way to you and what we learn about Paul in regard to this is number one. He truly believed in the deity of Christ and taught it. He didn't really have to stop and explain this to these people about his prayer, he darted taught them that obviously they knew this.

That's more significant than you may realize we live in a day when a lot of Christians according to polls that are taken, don't know hardly anything about Jesus Christ as a tenant and an incredibly large percentage of people who identify themselves as evangelical Christians who are not sure that Jesus Christ never sinned. In other words they don't know much about Jesus do that they haven't been taught much about him. They heard about any further name, invert certain things about him the godly church they've heard about about following Jesus and loving Jesus and Jesus loving me and Jesus dying on the cross. They been taught certain things about what Jesus has done and certain things about what Jesus is doing, but they have been taught precious little about who he is is Almighty God, we learn that by listening to the prayer. The apostle Paul, receiving instruction from this prayer and so we know the Paul believed in the deity of Jesus and he taught it to others, and Paul believed in the invincible power of God because he believed that God could overcome the obstacles of Satan clear the path for Paul to get back to the Thessalonians that he believed in the value of face-to-face Christian fellowship. He longed to see that we've already covered this because, before but we see it again. This prayer he longed to meet with them again.

It's wonderful to hear the report from Timothy to get that secondhand news from them.

That's wonderful if that's all we can do at the moment work thankful for that. It's wonderful to write to them any personal and communicate with them that what it's wonderful even to send to them a portion of inspired Scripture which of course is what the first Thessalonian epistle turns out to be. But even all that is not enough to satisfy the need of the hour to satisfy the need of Christians to satisfy the heart of the apostle Paul, of the need of the Thessalonian believers in the need of all believers. Paul valued the face to face fellowship of Christians. One with another.

We know that about the apostle Paul from this prayer, so he prayed for renewed fellowship petition number two verse 12 he prayed for increased love and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you but to give you four things that this tells us about love. Number one, the source of love and I should actually give you some definition of love before we get into that Paul doesn't give one here. This is what I picked out of a commentary there a lot of accurate definitions of this love this agape love of God but one commentator said love is giving to the needs of other others without thought of reward giving to the needs of others without thought of reward without without doing it in order to receive something back from them though thought of that. That's an that that just doesn't come into the thinking into our into our expression, exercise of love.

That's what divine love is so we begin where does it come from, what is the source of love may the Lord make you increase and abound in love.

Here's that word Lord together we seen it used in connection with Jesus in the previous verse and we find it all throughout the Scriptures used in connection with with God the father. The word Lord, which means master, which means ultimate ruler is used both the father and son so we don't know exactly which one. Paul has primarily in view here.

It really doesn't matter because we've already seek the two are one what he saying is that God must do this. God must make us increase in love because this kind of love does not arise from within me or you to love like this we have to be empowered by God. May the Lord notice this make you increase that almost sounds like Paul was a Calvinist committee. The Lord make you increase and yet he doesn't mean to make you increase in love against your will.

That's a misunderstanding of the sovereignty of God. That's up that's strawmen caricature that the enemies of the doctrines of grace often throw out that when Calvinist talk about God doing something God bringing people to himself.

It means that he forces them to do things against their will know no, you misunderstand. How does God make us increase in our love one to another.

He makes us willing. He makes his desire he makes it any enables us to do it.

He gives us the power to do it a lot of other type of love and agape love and unselfish love and giving love without any thought of reward.

A love that is unnatural to the human nature certainly to our Adamic nature that we can't really come up with on our own.

But God can give it to us.

God and God can give us the desire to exercise it, and when he does we do. It's not that he makes us do something we say. I don't want to do that, but I got to that. It's not the exercise of love at all. Is it it is all I want to Lord help me to do it better. God has given me both the will and the enabling God has given me the desire and the exercise of this love, and so God makes you by creating both a desire to love like this and ability to do so.

The source of love, the extent of love made increase and abound increase means become more we know what increase means something increases you have more of it than you had before the bombings go beyond abound means an over supply. So what Paul is saying is May the already present love, which is within you, because you are the children of God, and you therefore have a measure of this love within you, but they grow, they increase their abound may overflow you can never have too much of this you can never exercise too much of the really is no limit to the extent of this love which we learn to exercise as God's people who are the objects of his love, he tells us. May the Lord make you increase and abound in love. First to one another and secondly to all first one another.

In other words, the objects of our love have an order first to the saints. And then secondly to the unconverted. We find this order again and again throughout Scripture the slow first of all is exercise to one another as the children of God we learn to love one another and we owe to one another love. This is a highly important Jesus said by the shalom. I know that you are my disciples, if you have love to one another. John the apostle in first John makes it very clear we are Christians at all. If we don't have love toward other believers. So our first expression of love is to fellow believers, we first serve one another in love.

But after that the unconverted doesn't end there.

We also love others beyond us.

Everyone else, including our enemies as Jesus taught us in the sermon on the Mount in Matthew 544, including our political enemies. A lot of Christians fall short on that one. I hear an awful lot of angry speech, vitriolic language hate speech that is directed toward those whose politics are different from our own.

And that is totally uncharacteristic for child of God. That's wrong that's in, we may have and we we have every right to have differences of opinion based upon what we understand the belief that we don't have the right to be hateful and angry toward others, not toward anybody not toward the people of God and not toward those who are unconverted. How can we show them the love of Christ.

If we are spewing angry Kate toward so the objects of our love are both the people of God and the unconverted, and that is I say is certainly not natural to doesn't come easily.

It supernatural comes only as enabled by God, we learn to love others might live in loving fellow believers and in that day, no doubt, abounding in love one toward another was particularly necessary, particularly needed because of the persecution which they faced as they got very real animosity and persecution from the world without they found consolation they found encouragement help and strength in the fellowship of the believers, as the love of Christ was was poured out to each 1221 another from fellow believers in the midst of this persecution. I couldn't help but wonder as I was studying this text. If we need more persecution to begin to behave like Christians as in America, we haven't had enough persecution yet we have a learned act like Christians. I'm speaking broadly are not speaking about everyone individually.

What will it take, barely more than we've had so far.

What will it take until we stop acting like the weapons of our warfare are carnal and realize that they are only spiritual to the tearing down of strongholds begin to act like Christians are supposed to act.

We see finally the examples of love we sing, the source of love, the extent of love.

The objects of love and the examples of luck because Paul ends this verse by saying just as we do to you. That is to say, I want you to learn to love one another in the same way that I am Silas and Timothy, the missionary team demonstrated Christ love to you. We are the examples that you can safely follow when it comes to abounding in love, we are the models of Christian love to you and Paul and this team certainly gave unselfishly of themselves to the Thessalonians. And really, to all people, wherever they ministered without any thought of anything in return from them and I had to be rebuked in my own soul as I thought about this as I wondered, is my love. A model for others to copy, apply that to your own life is your Christian love exemplary enough that you could tell others copy my love I'll show you what love looks like you do what I do and you will learn what Christian love is like, you can safely follow my example that's a good model can you can learn and grow by following that example. Can you say that, and if not why not.

And if not maybe you got all growing to do. I guess we all do, don't worry. Which is why Paul prays. May your love increase and abound because it needs to increase whatever level it's that it needs to increase and abound. So that's his second prayer request first for renewed fellowship. Secondly, for increased love. And thirdly, for practical holiness.

Verse 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and father of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints got five things he wanted to go through them quickly that we can learn number one. The need for holiness may establish that word means to make strong and firm unblamable that means beyond the ability to find fault, he said.

May the holiness of your life be such that nobody can find fault with you while is a present ongoing process. The need for holiness. Secondly, notice the motive for holiness and that is love.

We see that by that introductory phrase so that connects with verse 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to use so that, in order that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness is a connection between growing love and growing holiness or another word to use is growing love and growing sanctification because that's what Paul is talking about here. Progressive sanctification holiness.

He tells us, is a fruit of increased love. It is love that motivates holiness is our love for God grows our desire for holiness grows as arc exercise of love to one another abound so our holiness of life increases. Which brings us number three to the fountain of holiness. And Paul says that your hearts that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before God flows from within. It flows from your inner life from your heart, your thoughts, you feelings your your will. Holiness doesn't come from external rules that ceremonial is that easily become self righteousness that all too easily becomes hypocrisy, but external rules cannot produce cannot establish true holiness.

It's not that there's no place for them altogether and the Bible clearly has rules, whatever you want to call them instructions, but the same thing. Commands of you, please, that's the same thing that's rules. There are plenty of them in Scripture. So I'm not saying that there's no place for them. But I'm saying that those things cannot produce holiness. That's why the Old Testament failed the first covenant failed because though it could tell us what was required, it could produce the ability to do produce what it required, took the coming of Christ took the second coveted took the death of Christ upon the cross. It took a spiritual power took a change of heart and life. In order for us to be able in any degree to obey those rules.

Those laws those regulations that showed us what a high standard holiness of God require of the fountain of holiness is your hearts. It is the inner life. If it doesn't come from within. It's not true holiness. Whatever it is it's an attempt to look holy to act holy. According to some kind of external standard, but it's not true holiness because true holiness comes from a change of heart comes from the life within. But not only the fountain of holiness, but number for the judge of holiness because he says establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and father who's going to judge our holiness as to whether satisfactory or not. God is he's the judge of holiness before God, our God and father.

Others are not authorized to define holiness.

Only God is say that's right get rid of all those legalistic rules and regulations back to that again if there biblical than don't get rid of them if they're not there added to Scripture than get rid of the that's Pharisaism but God is the only one who is authorized to define holiness. Others cannot do that for us and were not were not bound to obey the rules and laws of man if they are not Scripture the things that are added to Scripture. Like the Pharisees and Christ take. They have no authority over us whatsoever.

Only that which is given to us by God has authority in our lives and that has authority in our lives. Others do not have the ability to define holiness force would listen to me you don't have the authority to define holiness for yourself either on the God does. It's not what I think. It's not what I believe it's not. I'm not paying attention those others to decide for myself what is holiness, not your holiness is before God, he defines holiness, God judges are holiness in life and God is going to evaluate her someday regarding our holiness, thereby we will be rewarded or lose rewards.

That brings me number five to the culmination of holiness of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. That's where it's all going to finalize our holiness will be completed the second coming of Christ. Both soul and body will be completely holy, this 1/3 time, Paul mentions the second coming of Christ is mentioned in every chapter.

In chapter 1 the end of chapter 2 and out the end of chapter 3, when he comes with all his saints, Hill explained that more in chapter 4 that tells us at the present life is preparation for the life to come save a life if he's going to sanctifies fully at his coming, but I don't see why we need to work at holiness now well there may be several reasons, which only need one because God told you to delete any other reason besides that which brings me then to review very quickly. Three lessons to grow out of this passage. Number one is importance of holiness. Number two is the importance of love. Number three is importance of Christian fellowship and I'm going to elaborate most upon the first one importance of holiness. Now it's a present development culminates at the coming of Christ. But it's a present ongoing development in our lives now and those who deny this teaching are false teachers. That's not uncommon to come in our day to hear evangelical ministers making fun of of a holy life making fun of purity making fun of people who try to grow in holiness and to live godly in Christ Jesus calling them legalistic and there is such a thing is is a biblical legalism. I've already described it as adding things that aren't in the Bible. That's Pharisaism but to take away the commands that are in Scripture is sinful, terribly sinful. It is disobeying our Lord. There is a requirement to holiness and to downplay them to deny that and to try to encourage people to throw that all Christians are thrown it off and just live anywhere you please is the height of disobedience to the height of air. It is the mark of a false teacher. We live in a day when it's not uncommon for evangelical preachers to see how close they can get to scandalous blasphemy in their course languages are trying to be cool is trying to relate to the ungodly culture you hear their course in vulgar language, and sometimes even there, taking the name of the Lord in vain in their sermons in the pulpit, certainly runs contrary to what Paul is teaching is here supposed to be increasing in holiness, as defined by God, who tells us is no place for this kind of course jesting and foolish, speaking, and certainly no place for taking the name of the Lord in vain and I say to get anyone who does that listen sometimes you keep God's people have difficulty figuring out who's safe to follow anyone who behaves that way is a false teacher market down and get as far away from them as you possibly those who deny this teaching of holiness are false teachers.

Those who believe the error of these false teachers are worldly minded not godly. The worldly minded to see how they worldly Christians. They may call themselves Christians. As for God to judge and afraid. Many of them have never truly been saved at all, but will just let it go at that. They are worldly minded. They are certainly not thinking like Christians. They are certainly not behaving like Christians. They are following in many cases a a line of teaching which they gravitate to because their own hearts are rebellious against this prayer, Paul indicates importance of holiness in the lives of God's people now and it presses upon us the importance of love growing love in our lives now and impresses upon us once again the importance of Christian fellowship. We need that show we pray father that whose leper found a ransom for our souls has found. We sinners bend and receive with gratitude the pardoning love that you extend teacher so Lord your ways and show us your pants. We pray in Jesus name a man