The Ministry of Believers to the Minister

Transcript

GR 1122
3/10/1985
The Ministry of Believers to the Minister
1 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Gil Rugh

Paul's first epistle to the Thessalonians. First Thessalonians and chapter three in your Bibles. In a revealing section of the New Testament because in this portion of Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians he has been unveiling something of his own inner feelings as a servant of Jesus Christ. We get a glimpse of something of Paul’s attitude toward those he ministered too. Perhaps gain an appreciation of why he was such an effective servant of God. To him it was not just a matter of going out and decimating information about Jesus Christ as important as that is, but he saw it as a ministry to people to convey to the truth concerning Christ so that they might believe it and have transformed lives. That is Paul’s goal. The transformation of life for those who have contact with the gospel as he preaches it. Paul is related to the Thessalonians his intense desire to see them, although this desire he said at the end of chapter two v 18 was frustrated by Satan. Paul really wanted to come and see the Thessalonians face to face but Satan had prevent him, and this is a response to those false teachers who would be opposing Paul, accusing him of abandoning the Thessalonians, of not wanting to come back because there was no personal gain for Paul in returning. Paul says just the opposite. I really wanted to come back, but I was prevented by Satan. Paul had such a desire to know how the Thessalonians were doing. He sent Timothy on a return trip so in chapter 3 verses 1 and 2 he says, after he could endure it no Longer he sent Timothy to check on their welfare, and also to encourage and strengthen them under the pressure of opposition and persecution.

We come to v. 6 of chapter 3 we come to a break, in this Letter, because in verses 5, and 6, there is an undetermined amount of time, the time that lapsed between when Timothy left Paul, made the return trip to Thessalonica, was there with the Thessalonians, ministered to them, strengthened them in the word and in their faith, and then made the return trip back to Paul. All of that fits between verses 5 and 6 of Paul’s writing here, because you read in verse six , but now that Timothy has come to us from you, so Timothy has returned, and the tenor of this verse is he just returned and you get the idea of Paul the first thing I did, after talking to Timothy was sit down and write this letter to you to express my feelings and how your attitude, and your firmness in the gospel as affected me. He says in v. 6, But now that Timothy has come to us from you and has brought good news of your faith, and Love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us, just as we Long to see you. So the report of Timothy has been glowing, to say the least, Paul character, characterizes it as good news. Now what is unique about this is this is the only time in all of Paul’s writings he uses this word translated "good news" two words in English, for anything other than the Good News of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That was a word that was so special Paul reserved it for the proclamation of the gospel of Christ, but on this one occasion this news is so special, so thrilling to him that he uses this special word. This doesn't mean that it is on a par with the gospel or is important as the gospel, but this was such an overwhelming refreshing report that timothy gave that he used this word, the good news of your faith.

Paul had been concerned about their faith. Back in verse 2 end of the verse, Timothy was sent to strengthen and to encourage them regarding their faith. In verse 5 he says for this reason, when I could endure it no longer I sent to find out about your faith, had they remained firm and stable in their trust in Jesus Christ,. Remember the parable in Matthew 13 with the seed sown on shallow ground and when persecution and opposition arises that seed wilts immediately. Well, Paul had sown the seed at Thessalonica. The response had been positive, and quick, but he had left quickly, and now under persecution his concern was had that faith been genuine, had it weathered the persecution, which would demonstrate that it was true and genuine faith in Christ and their trust and confidence in Christ had remained firm.

Of your faith and Love, now faith has a focal point toward God Love has it focal point toward man, and really in these two words you have summarized our entire Christian responsibility. Faith and Love, We think of it in that triad we have in Corinthians, faith, hope, and Love, but Paul talks about that hope they have in Christ later.
But faith directed toward God and trust in His provision in Christ and Love demonstrated toward other believers and the love here is , the Agape Love which has been talked about earlier, self-sacrificing Love. Love demonstrated toward Paul and other believers. He’ll refer to that Later and we’ll talk about that a Little more.

The third thing that perhaps was the most encouraging to Paul was their attitude toward him, because this would be a test of the genuineness of their faith and of the reality of their love. If they claimed to have faith in Christ, yes we are standing strong, and yes we Love the brethren, but no we think Paul is a huckster that would indicate something was wrong but you can imagine how good Paul felt when Timothy said, "You always thin& kindly of us, that you are longing to see us, had the same desire to have Paul with them to enjoy his presence as Paul had for them, and Paul is greatly encouraged and strengthened by that.

Verse 7 he says for this reason, the reasoned mentioned in vs. 6, he puts it in the singular, for this reason, he sees these things brought together, your faith, your love, your thoughts toward us and longing for us, this all serves together, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith. Interesting, isn't it? We think of the apostle Paul as a bulwark of the faith and he was. You know one of the ways, one of the means God used to strengthen and give Paul courage was the ministry of other believes in his life. Here the Thessalonians as Paul said, had comforted him, and the emphasis here on that comfort is encouragement, strength. We were given the support and strength we needed, when we remember the faithfulness and your thoughts of us.

What a reminder how important it is for us as believers. See the mighty apostle Paul so greatly used of God, yet we find that God used other believers to strengthen Paul, to support him, and give him the courage for his ministry. This took place in the context of distress and affliction, and the picture here of distress and affliction is the outward pressures that were pushing in on Paul. Everywhere he went he had opposition, everywhere he went he had resistance to the proclamation of the gospel and it was tremendously encouraging and reinforcing to have this testimony come back regarding the Thessalonians. Their standing strong in the face of persecution. This reinforced Paul, this is worth it, this ministry is accomplishing something in life. You know, sometimes I think we get the wrong idea of our independence in Christ, say what did Paul need to know other than this was God's will for him, and Jesus Christ was using him. That's enough, isn’t it? Isn't that what it is all about? Well, God ordains the means as well as the ends, and the means for us standing strong often is the use of other believers and here in the midst of the opposition the distress and the affliction, Paul is encouraged by the testimony of these Thessalonians standing firm. Notice at the end of verse 7, through your faith. This is the 4th time in this one chapter, chapter 3 that Paul has talked about their faith. He did it in verse 2, 5, 6, and now again in verse 7. Your faith. Your standing firm in your trust in Jesus Christ gives me strength. We get some idea of that even on our limited scale. You as a believer your outs in the world and your suffering perhaps some resistance persecution for your testimony, perhaps, your family has reacted negatively to your faith in Christ or whatever, and it is encouraging and reinforcing to look and see another Christian who is going through trial and difficulty and they are standing firm and they are standing strong and God often uses that to give us a strength, and courage, to enable us to go on in this kind of situation. This is what Paul is talking about.

Summarizes it very concisely in v. 8, for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord, You know what Paul is saying here? Their firmness and stability in Christ was what life was all about for him. Now again, we have to put Scripture together with Scripture, in Phil 1:21 Paul said for me to live is Christ, now in effect he is saying for me to live is you Thessalonians, but the two go together,

What does Paul mean when he says, me to live is Christ. Nothing I like better than to sit back in a nice comfortable chair, propping my feet up and thinking great theological thoughts, then perhaps having Timothy and Luke get together and thrash out some of these tremendous, theological problems, and that is what life is all about for me. It is Christ and I am just never tired of thinking about Him, and batting back and forth these great theological truths with my friends. You know there is a place for that. I think we ought to think great theological thoughts, I think it can be stimulating, sharpening, to discuss and debate in the right sense the truths of the word of God and sharpen ourselves. You know Paul wasn't satisfied to do that, he saw His Life in Christ as invested now in serving Him by ministering to others and so His life was centered in Christ and that is demonstrated by his ministry in the lives of other people, so he could say, if we really live, if you stand firm in Christ.

In I Corinthians chapter 9:22 Paul says that we have become all things to all men, in order that we might by some means save some, Paul invested his life in that. Whatever necessary to come to see people know Jesus Christ and then to grow to maturity in Him, to truly stand firm in their faith and relationship to Him, So I feel my life is accomplishing his purpose in being centered in Christ when I see that impact on other people’s lives. Wonder if I have that same perspective. How do I measure what life is about for me. "Success" if you will, in quotes for me as a believer? Do I look around and see how I am doing in my job, my income, other things that are superficial characteristics. Do I look around and see how God has used me in the lives of other believers? How privileged I am when I look at my Timothy group or other contacts. See how God has been working in my Life and privileged me to be a part of their growth and development and maturity so I can see them stabilizing and maturing in their relationship with Christ. That is what Paul is talking about here.

In verse 9, For what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice, with which we rejoice before our God on your account. So put things in perspective unless you think Paul has a case of self satisfaction and he is beginning to gloat a little bit in his glowing thinking, my I have such a tremendous ministry and I am quite effective. Paul puts it all in perspective here, he realizes and this is what gives him satisfaction that it has been God's work in the Thessalonians that has produced this firmness in the faith. So he says, M what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice. We have been caused to rejoice in giving great joy because of what God has done in your life. You see it is put in perspective here, You’ll note Paul can talk about his ministry to them, what a great blessing they were, he sees behind it all, God brought it all about. It was because Paul was working in Paul's life that his ministry to the Thessalonians was effective. That is because God is continuing to work among the Thessalonians, that they are standing firm for Christ. He says how could I ever thank God enough for what he is doing. Again we are driven back to see that Paul is excited about being a part of that supernatural work that God is accomplishing in lives and God uses people to do it. How did Paul get joy? How was he caused to rejoice in his Christian life? You know we have sourpuss Christians deadpan, deadhead, deadface Christians. You know part of the problem? They haven't invested their lives in other believers so they aren't getting the return, if you will. Paul invested his life in these Thessalonians, the result was that God was using these Thessalonians to give him joy rejoicing in his Christian Life. You say, Oh, I just get that with my relationship with God. You get it the way God gives it and we see a pattern, how does God give it? He gives it by His Spirit, but
how does the Spirit work? Well we see here in Paul's pattern he used the ministry of Paul in the Thessalonians to result in the Spirits ministry through the Thessalonians to produce joy and rejoicing in Paul which caused him to What? Give thanks to God, We sometimes try to produce these things in a vacuum and wonder why it is sort of barren and dry. Why it just doesn't seem to work and here we glimpse of how God carries it out in the lives of His children.

Now in verse 9» what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before God on your account. Interesting to note even though Paul centers it in God. This is what God has done I want to thank Him, his thanks still center in the Thessalonians. One of the commentators, and I didn't bother to count this but I think it is about right, I approximated it, looked over it quickly, said 10 times in verses 6-10 he uses the pronoun you or your, a form of you. Ten times in verses 6-10 he talks about you or your. It is what God has done in you, your faith, so you see how it goes together, God is using the Thessalonians, and I am thankful for you, on your account, thank God for you, this is the process that is going on in Paul's life.

As we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith?

Paul continued in fervent prayer for them, his involvement for them continued even though he wasn't there any longer. One way to get involved with a person is to pray for them, and the more you pray for somebody the more you will identify with them. I dare say that the people you really intensely, and intently pray for you don't criticize very much. You develop a burden for those people, you are concerned for them, and you are really praying for them, then you are looking for ways to be involved in their lives, to help them to be what God wants them to be. See that is what Paul did with the Thessalonians.

He uses a word here in verse 10 as we night and day keep praying most earnestly. Let me read to you what this word means. It means abundantly, beyond all measure, exceedingly overflowing all bounds, superabundantly. It’s an adverb that describes something that goes beyond what you can measure. So when he says that we are praying most earnestly there is an intensity here. This adverb is used only two other times in the New Testament, both times by the apostle Paul, Over in chapter 5 of Thessalonians verse 13 we are going to see it again. He is going to talk about esteeming some believers in verse 13, very highly in love because of their work. A superabundant esteem bestowed upon them.

Back in Ephesians chapter 3:20 Paul says now to Him who is able, to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, I mean how can you measure how much beyond what we could think? God could really do. We're finite with finite minds and He is infinite with infinite resources, so it is exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think that God can and does do.

That is the concept when you come back to I Thessalonian Chapter 3:10 and Paul says we keep praying most earnestly. There is an overflowing in our prayer for you. This just isn't before I go to bed at night, I say Oh, yes, Lord bless the Thessalonians, amen. Paul is really concerned. He says day and night. That means he constantly remembers them before the Lord. It doesn't mean in the morning and in the evening. That expression carries the idea of constantly, that doesn't mean all the time, but through the day, perhaps several times the Thessalonians come through his mind and he is praying for them even as he goes about other things. He pauses to concentrate on them. What are you really praying for in that way? Do you have anybody in your life you are investing your prayer life in on that kind of level? That I am really praying in that kind of way, Paul says that is what I have done for the Thessalonians, Any wonder he had an effective ministry among people when he was so absorbed with them that he could describe his prayer Life in that way. We keep praying most earnestly.

That word prayer is interesting. Amazing what you find out about prayer even in a brief expression like this. Paul says praying here. This word for praying isn't the word that would denote devotion but it is a word that denotes lack or want and what you find out here is Paul’s prayer arises from a sense of want or lack. He felt that he needed the Thessalonians. He felt a lack without them and so he is praying accordingly what, that we may see your face, and when he sees their face he will see their faith in action. That is what he is praying. You know sometimes we think, Oh, boy, I don't know, maybe this is selfish. Is it selfish that Paul wants to see the Thessalonians? He has this real sense of lack without them. He says I am praying with an intensity that is overflowing, that God will enable me to see your face again. You know that is when we really pray, when something, we have that sense of lack, that sense of need, then we are moved to pray and I think that is a good thing. I think that is why God often brings that sense into our lives because that motivates us to an intensity prayer that otherwise would not be there. Now Paul does not want to come for his own benefit, but he wants to come and do something for them, and it is surprising here, after all those good things he has said about the Thessalonians you'd think they have about everything going for them they could want. Now you find hut he wants to come that he may complete what is lacking in your faith. After all the good things he has said about faith. About all the good things he said about they stand firm in the faith, now he says I really want to come so I can complete what is lacking in your faith. And here you see the balance that Paul had. He had great appreciation for them, for their strength, but he also hadn't lost his idea that there were still needs there. This is still a relative immature church. Their faith is great for young believers but there is much to do to bring it to maturity and perfection that is in Christ.

Interesting word, that you may complete , that word complete, we have studied it on other occasions, in the Scriptures, that word, used in Matthew chapter 4:21 for mending nets, fishing nets, they are mending nets. They were doing what was necessary to render them fit for fishing. It is used in Galatians verse 1 if you oversee a brother taken in a fault you who are spiritual restore such a one. That word restore is the word, bring him back in the right condition.

Ephesians chapter 4 verse 12, where we are told that the gifts that involved the communication of the word such as evangelist and pastors teachers, along with apostles and prophets were given for the equipping of the saints, that word equipping, the word we have rendered complete here, bringing the saints to what God wants them to be, so they can serve Him as they should. Here that is what Paul says, we may complete what is lacking, means what comes behind in your faith. Those things that still are not what they ought to be in your relationship with God, we want to supply that to make you more of what God wants you to be so you'll be more effective in your service for Him. In other words He wants to more of the maturing process so there is going to be a mutual benefit, I want to come and benefit from seeing; you and that will be a tremendous encouragement to me, while I am there I want to minister to you and help you to come to further maturity in your faith and those things that are lacking, I want to help you.

Isn't it interesting? Often we look and see what is lacking in believers and that is all we can talk about. We get so absorbed with their shortcomings you wouldn't have gotten that idea at all until you get to this portion of I Thessalonians, because all that Paul has talked about is the strength of the Thessalonians and what he appreciates about them and the great Love he has for them. How he prays for them and now he says I want to come and help you even mature more, to be more of what G0d wants you to be in His relationship with Him.
What a beautiful balance, and that is a balance we ought to have, We ought to see what is lacking in one another's life for the Lord, but that ought not to become a barrier, we ought to appreciate all that God has done in our lives, and look forward to the process of being part of adding to what is lacking, so that maturing is accomplished.

Note what Paul says in verse 11, now what you really have here is Paul describing his prayer, Paul prays for them in a brief way, but it is almost more of a description of his prayer than the prayer itself. Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you. And just note here how Jesus is put on the same plane as God the Father. May God the Father and Jesus the Lord direct our way to you. Another one of those subtle, but clear ways that you see the deity of Christ brought out in the Scripture. He has the power along with His Father to direct our way to you, or to direct or way with the idea of smoothing a path or smoothing a road, the idea Paul saying take the bumps out of the road so I can get back to you so remove the obstacles in the way so that I can return. Remember the picture of Satan cutting into the road and making it impassable, now Paul is saying I want God and Jesus Christ to remove the obstacles so I can come back and it is interesting even though he said in chapter two in verse 18 that Satan prevented him from coming that is always in the context should God so will for Paul He can overrule the obstacles of Satan so that he can return and that balance Paul sees Satan at work but he realizes should God so choose He could enable him to return to Thessalonica.

Verse 12 and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all men, just as we also do for you, He wants their love to continue to grow. Now their love is genuine, refer to that up above in verse 6, Timothy brought good news of their love. Back in chapter 1:3 He talked about their labor of love, Now he wants God to cause them to increase and abound in love, and wants their love to grow, if you will, multiply. This love, the agape love, is a fruit of the spirit. The fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22 is, first fruit mentioned there is love, that to grow, to multiply, that love which is not dependent upon the worthiness of the object, that is love, but it is produced by the spirit of God in the life. This is to grow it is present, but I want it to increase and abound, your love for one another, fellow believers and for all mane. This love isn't to be limited to just believers, now these are believers in the context: of persecution so when he says to love other believers and then all men that includes those that are around them persecuting them and this will be an opportunity for their love to grow, to demonstrate that kind of agape love to those who have rejected them, persecuted them, causing them great suffering and hardship.

Back in Matthew chapter 5 turn back there quickly, You know your Love can't grow in this dimension unless you are having resistance and opposition and rejection and persecution and if you are facing that in your life then maybe that is because God wants you to have an opportunity to have His love grow in that dimension. In Matt. Chapter 5 verse 44, But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. Here, that love here, that love which acts out of a desire for their good and their best, so rather than revenge, rather than those seething feelings underneath of hatred and the desire to get even, there needs to be submissiveness in this context of the Spirit of God to allow this quality of Christ Himself to be produced in their life so in effect Paul is telling them "I want you to grow and abound in your love for believers and toward all men and the particular pressure point for them in their growth in this area will be with those who are persecuting them. Hard to manifest this love toward those who are causing you such great suffering, bringing such great hardship upon you, and those you dearly love. But now you are to love them and all men.

Back in I Thessalonians 3 we also do for you. Paul gave them the pattern. So that, what is the purpose in all this? What is the goal toward which he is moving? So that He may establish your hearts unlikeable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. That He may establish your hearts, a, buttress them, make them firm and solid. We looked at this word back in chapter 3 and verse 2 where Timothy was sent to strengthen them, as to their faith. Now here, the purpose is that God may establish may strengthen, solidify, your hearts. He wants them made firm and solid in the inner man, in their hearts, referring to the inner person, in the inner man. What Paul wants them to be in effect is characterized by stability. Isn't that what maturity is? Becoming stable, not complacent, but stable, firm, unshakeable, characteristic of immature children, young children. When you teach them we say you have to do a variety of things. Why? you say they have a short attention span' You know that is the way immature Christians are, they have a short attention span, and immature Christians are going to jump into this job, they jump in, no sooner have they jumped in and they jump out over here , and over here, and the danger in that kind of context is if we don't get established is our hearts, , . . strengthened and made firm we find them jumping into this crazy doctrine, and this strange teaching, and there is going to be much pressure this way, the Thessalonians were already experiencing it, he wants them to be stabilized in the inner man in their relationship with Christy Stablished, made stable, in your hearts, unblameable in holiness and the word unblameable means just what it says, no ability to find fault. Your without blame, there is nothing that can be charged against you, Now this is to take place in holiness, and this word interestingly denotes not the process of becoming holy, but the quality of being holy. They are holy in Jesus Christ. He wants them to be stabilized unblameable in that holiness that is theirs in Christ.

Basic idea of holiness is to be set apart and believers are those who are set apart by God for Himself same root word when we talk about the saints, and it is used at the end of verse 13 translated saints, the same idea root word. Those who are set apart for God by Himself from sin, so may you be established, made firm, unblameable, in holiness. The holiness you have in Christ is to be manifested in your life and in your living, so that there is no charge that can be brought against you. You see Paul is not satisfied. Here we have got believers who have a position in Christ, that is fine let’s get on and get others to have that position in Christ, he wants others to have that position in Christ, but he wants those who have that position in Christ to be living that position, to be characterized by stability and firmness in their walk with God and Paul perspective again we are back to the same focal point as we've seen earlier before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

The ultimate goal, or point of reference back in chapter two verse 19 who is our hope, joy, or crown of exultation? Is it not you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? Here he wants them established unblameable in holiness in the context of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ Paul sees everything in light of that ultimate goal. We are going to stand in the presence of Christ, the Bema seat again would be the focal point here. We are going to stand before Him and our lives are going to be evaluated. That is when my ministry ultimately will be tested by
God, will be revealed for what it really is. That is when you will be seen for what you really are. My holiness in Christ is not in question, but the outworking of that holiness in my life will be. That is where it will be manifested, the consistency of how did my practice conform to my position in Jesus Christ, that will be seen dearly at the Bema seat of Christ. That is where Paul’s concern is, when we stand in the presence of Christ at His coming before Him at the Bema Seat that is where I want it to be seen that the holiness that you have was lived out in your life and you were established unblameable. There is nothing that can be said. No inconsistencies pointed out. You said wow that's a high standard. Exactly, Paul never lowers the standard. He constantly here is with relatively new believers and he says that's the goal when we stand in the presence of Christ I want you unblameable in holiness, Again we have to be talking about the practical aspect because in Christ we are unblameable, unblemished, without spot as he writes to the Colossians. Also he's concerned here that by their life they live accordingly.

The coming of the Lord Jesus with all His saints. That is what he is saying, we will be there with all the other believers, and he is going to talk about in coming with the saints in chapter 4 with the rapture those who have died and gone into the presence of Christ will return with Him and we, who are alive will be caught up to meet them in the air and there we will stand in His presence at the Bema seat and our Lives will be evaluated, and my practice and my motives in my life will be Laid bare and that is what Paul is concerned about, I am going to stand there, you are going to be the testimony to my ministry as he talked about before at the end of chapter two, here is what I expect there, here is what I want for you, in His presence on that day. So what has he said? In this all, he's encouraged, he's strengthened, God has used the Thessalonians and their faithfulness and he desires to see them come to more maturity they can't stop, they are doing well, we'd say they are mature for believers who are of this age, but that maturity will not be good enough in five years, I am mature in Christ perhaps for where I am now but that will not be good enough next year and I must grow and continue to mature , so his desire is that he might minister among them. Note he doesn't see them do that on their own, but as they minister together with one another, as he comes and ministers to them the word of God they will develop and mature and the result of that is stability and firmness, in holiness. You ought to see how that is brought about he comes and ministers to them, he ministers the word among them they are brought to more firmness and stability in holiness.

You ought to see how that is brought about. He comes and ministers to them. He ministers the word among them. They are brought to more firmness and stability in holiness. Because it is assumed that as they learn and grow they will assimilate that into their lives in submission to the Spirit. You see how Paul invested himself in other believers. If we are going to have that kind of testimony as the Thessalonians did we are going to have to be investing our lives in one another. You know it is not a superficial thing God has called us to, it is not a passing thing, it is not good enough to come and even sit here and listen to the word together and study and go on our way. God calls us to be involved in a variety of ways in one another's lives. We do that there will have to be a realistic perspective God is not done with any of us yet, He is not done with me, He is not done with you. We need to do what Paul did, first of all, look and appreciate what God has done in our lives, the good things that have been accomplished, there is not a believer in this fellowship that if I look and with them there aren't things I can see and say praise God for what He has done in their Life. There are changes, there is a transformation that has occurred and is continuing to occur so we can praise God for what He is doing. We also look and see there are short comings, there are weaknesses, there are areas where faith comes behind, or is lacking as Paul phrases it, now how can I be involved in helping them become more what they ought to be in that area and not say oh phooey, give up on them, with that short coming, No, That becomes the challenges of our ministry* His desire was that they might increase and grow in Love so that in it all they might be given a stability in the inner man. That is my desire for you, that is my desire for me, stability, firmness, in my relationship with Christ, that it not waver up and down, one day up, one day down, but a stability and a firmness so that we might be established, unblameable in holiness. Isn't that what it is all about? His glorious character produced in and through us in the way that we live and all that we do and a consistency, not that I say, well I see the holy
in him character of Christ over here, but over here it seems to be lacking in this relationship it is here, and this one it is not there, when he is doing this it is there, when he is doing this it is not there. No, a stability and a firmness, unblameable in holiness.

What a work God has called us to do. Isn't it amazing when you think about this in light of the fact that we are going to stand in the presence of Christ what it is all about is God using us in one another’s lives to bring us to that point and we ought to have that burden when we are all going to stand there but I hope more than anything as you stand there as a clear testimony of what God has accomplished in your life. You know why? That will be
a testimony of my faithfulness to Him and that is true for each one of us. You know we are inseparably joined together as we stand at the Bema Seat of Christ. We are going to be a reflection of one another, how did we do so to speak, well we will be a testimony to one another how we did. Were we established unblameable in holiness.

Was that glorious character of Christ seen in us in all the areas? Did we move to be available to be instruments of God to be used in one another's lives to make up what is lacking, to bring to further maturity. Isn't it exciting to think we could stand there as a balanced group of believers, those who have matured as they should have, because we were a group of believers who were submissive to the Spirit and willing to be used in one another’s Lives. All in light of the fact that we will stand there in the presence of His coming.

Let's Pray together