Remember, Jesus told us in John 14:3, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." Beloved, if God could do all of this in just 6 days, just imagine what He's been up to for the last 2000 years! And, we're closer than we have ever been!
Open with me your Bibles to the Book of II Thessalonians chapter three. This is a wonderful passage in the Word of God, is all about the importance of praying for other people. The theme of this passage, I believe teaches us a very important lesson; That asking for prayer is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of dependence.
In fact, I believe that not praying for the proclaiming of the Word, limits its potential for spreading. Prayer empowers the Word causing the Word to run or spread swiftly. Swift spreading of the Word glories the Word. Will be "glorified" can be translate be "received with honor." Beloved, I ask you, what could possibly be more endearing, more gratifying and more rewarding than to know that because we have prayed, taught or proclaimed the Word of God, it has been received by others with honor?
Rejecting the Word is the most obvious form of not glorifying or honoring the Word. But the Word of God is not honored when we dust off a Bible, but when we read it and practice it; we might call this active listening. Our positive response to the Word honors it. Passively listening or listening with no intention to obey dishonors it. An unopened Bible dishonors the Word. An unread Bible dishonors the Word. Reading the Word as part of a meaningless, dead ritual dishonors the Word.
I would like to encourage you all to follow along with me as I read to you from our text, to set it in our minds, II Thessalonians 3:1-5.
"Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ."
The Apostle Paul was not afraid to tell the church that he needed them to pray for him. In fact, he gave them some specific things in which to pray about. I believe that one of the key factors that makes so many of our praying so weak and ineffective, is that we pray such generalized prayers. The most effective intercessory prayer is a targeted prayer. There are some people pray so generally that they never even know if God answers their prayer.
In verse 1, Paul wrote to the Thessalonian believers, "...pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you;" Psalm 147:15 echoes this when it says "He sends forth His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly."
The Apostle Paul was a brilliant man, a brilliant theologian. He had been trained by the most prestigious and erudite men, rabbis, in the world and even better than that, by the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And, according to Galatians 1, he was trained in Arabia, in the Gospel, where he received divine revelation from Him. Paul was a man of unsurpassed intellect; a giant among church planters and missionaries.
Paul asked the church to pray for him. Our brothers and sister, around the world, who serve the Lord along side of us need your prayer. And I'm not talking about some carpet-bombing prayer; I'm speaking about the need for some laser-guided prayers, specific targets, prayer. Every morning, before I begin my day, I pray for each and every one of you. I pray for your spiritual needs, your physical needs as well I family and financial needs. In my "Prayer Center," which is on the lower floor, praying to the highest point of intercession, the Throne of God. I am grateful for the intercessors who gather to pray for me and the other members of our brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s what I like to call "our GAP prayer meeting." Beloved, we aren’t praying generally. Each and every day, I give them specific prayer requests for your needs and ours.
I would like to encourage you to share your prayer concerns on our new Prayer Wall. And would encourage you to join them to participate in laser-guided prayer for me and the other staff members. I know that I speak for all our team here, when I say, "Pray for us."
We know that the Apostle Paul wrote many of his letters from a prison cell. He wrote to the Philippians, and told that their prayers along with the help of Jesus Christ would deliver him. He put their prayers right up there on the same level as the help of Jesus. When they prayed for imprisoned Christians, they didn’t pray, "God help Paul to have a good day in prison." Nor did they pray for Peter saying, "Lord, be with Peter in prison." No, they prayed, ‘"God send an earthquake to release Paul and Silas." They prayed, "God send an angel and escort Peter out of jail right in front of the jailers." However, if you do not believe that God uses earthquakes and sends angels, then you certainly won’t ask Him for those things.
In His model prayer, in Matthew 6, Jesus taught us to pray, Jesus taught us to pray: "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
I believe that it is clear that Jesus is talking about a malevolent being named Satan who is dead set on opposing God along with anyone and everything that is holy. And, as a footnote, the more valuable you are to the kingdom of God, the more fierce his attacks! In other words, he attempts to take out the ones making the biggest impact for Christ. If you're not experiencing any form of opposition from Satan, I would strongly recommend examining your ministry to see what side your on. I do not know anyone who is effective in their ministry for Christ, who hasn't also faced strong opposition from Satan!
Remember that the Apostle Paul in I Thessalonians 2:18 wrote "For we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, more than once—and yet Satan hindered us."
In verse 2, Paul, continues to be specific in his request for prayer, "and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith." I believe that we can see clearly Paul's utter dependence on God and the prayer of others.
Beloved, we have our brothers and sisters all around the world who are facing severe persecution. Many are facing being arrested and thrown in jail. Others are being beaten and tortured for their faith. Still others, are being martyred. We need to fervently pray, without ceasing for their protection, specifically.
Even here in America, there are people out there to oppose anyone who is standing up for Jesus Christ. There are Atheist and freedom from religion groups, and several politicians, who are trying to use the courts to silence the church.
Believe it or not, we’re involved in spiritual warfare. Angels and demons aren’t just the name of a novel or a movie title. They are real. Even Christians sometimes think those are mythological beings are like dragons, fairies, and vampires. Best you wake up! We need to be praying specifically for the safety of everyone involved in sharing the Gospel. Pastors are being required to turn over their sermons for government approval, mass shootings in churches, pastors being forced to maintain an online ministries, to keep us from the assembling of ourselves.
Verse 3 "But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one." Here we see that Paul not only asked them to pray specifically for him, he also prayed specifically for them.I believe it is an honor and great privilege to tell someone I am praying for them, and it’s better to tell them specifically what I am asking God to do in their lives.
We all know a few believers who are estranged. To intercede means you stand between them and bring them together. You might not have the opportunity to take one of them by the hand and place it in the hand of the other, but you can sure pray that their hearts will overflow with love for one another.
Listen, if any of you think that serving Christ in the manner the Apostle Paul did is the most difficult and demanding job in all of the world, just roll up your sleeves and get involved in this kind of ministry. I believe that you will soon change your minds. The world will hate you, just as Jesus warned in John 15:18, when He said "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you."
This may come as a shock to some you, but there are even those in the church who will hate you. In other words, it may cost you everything but please
understand this; genuine, biblical, intentional, Gospel ministry will
require far more of you than you are able to give based upon your own
resources. I hope that you will believe me when I tell that a strong mind, will and body are crucial, however, when you enter into
the kingdom of darkness to do battle with hardened, evil sinners, who faithfully serve
their master, the devil, the prince of the power of the air, the father
of lies, the ruler of the demons,
you will quickly discover that your resources are completely insufficient. I'm not just making this up, I am telling you this from my own personal experience. Satan and his minions will pull out all the stops, attacking you from every angle, in ways that you cannot even imagine. He will work through your congregation, he will work through your family, he will destroy friendships, he will work through your health. Literally anything he can do to try and stop you! I will be the first to acknowledge, I cannot do battle with him without the help of Christ! Satan may shake my faith, however, he can never destroy it! Amen? I believe that any humble slave of Christ is going to recognize this fact.
Why do you think that Paul wrote in II Corinthians 10:3 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh," I also believe that a humble servant not only recognize his dependence on Christ but, he will make the Gospel his number one priority.
In verse 4, Paul says "We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command." In other words, Paul is saying we're praying that you will continue to be obedient. That he's going to continue to work in you. You could almost hear him saying the words of Philippians 1:6, " For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."
Some Christians today are like those that Paul described in I Corinthians 3:1-3 "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?" Some of you still have an attitude that pursues self will rather than God's will. Because you're still caught up in the world.
That's we need to pray for each other that we will persevere in Christ. Perseverance carries the idea of endurance in the midst of trials. It means to keep on running the race of faith even when you grow tired and weary. In Hebrews 12:1-3, the writer of Hebrews uses this running metaphor for the Christian life.
"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
Paul writes in verse 5, "May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ." Beloved, this the kind of desire that flows from out of the well of selfless love. The self righteous and the proud have no such desire! What Paul literally means "to make straight; to remove any obstacles that might impede progress." He does this for two reasons: direct your hearts into the love of God, and secondly, direct your hearts into the steadfastness of Christ. The Apostle Paul wants the Lord to cause them to really reflect upon the character of God's love and his commitment to them come what may.
In Closing...
All throughout the Bible, our heart is a critical issue. It's not just some beating organ that keeps us alive, as it is view in the world, it's our mission control center. That's why we tell people to invite Jesus into their hearts. It's like saying, "Jesus take control over my life, make Your priorities my priorities. Help me to see others the way that You see the, And love them just as You love them." We need to show love to those in our family, as well as those who God places in our lives. In the game of tennis love is nothing, however, in life, love is everything.
A heart that is full of love never asks, "What can I do to get even?" Rather, it asks, "What can I do to make a difference?" A heart full of the love of Christ, never says "Someone else will take care of it!" It ask "Lord, use me to help them in their time of need." Your heart can only overflow with God’s love if it is filled to the brim with His love. In contrast, if your heart is only filled with the love of this world, you'll find yourself saying "I don't care about them, why should I help them," or "They did this to me, so let them suffer."
Jesus told in Matthew 24:12, "Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold."
We can’t fix these problems that are happening in our world today, the government cannot enact some law to solve the issues we're facing. We've already got more laws now, than society is obeying! That's the problem. The solution isn't more laws, for less ungodly people. Beloved, the problem is in the world is sin, so we must trust Christ, the only One Who can deal with sin, for the solution.
May it be so...
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen