DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE - October 3, 1999

By Carol Ferch-Johnson

The devotional message entitled "Living Expectantly--The Quality of End Time Living" was presented by Carole Ferch-Johnson, Director of the Women's Ministries Department, South Pacific Division. Scripture texts are taken from the New International Version.

It was the Macedonian ascendancy of Alexander the Great that brought Thessalonica into existence--the city, that is, not the girl. Thessalonica, herself, was already a young adult, a half sister to Alexander and wife to his general Cassander when her husband rebuilt the old city of Therma and named it after her. That was 350 years ago.

Today the Christian message is coming to Thessalonica, carried westward along the Egnatia Highway from Philippi, down the flagstone streets and into the Jewish synagogue by three missionary men--Paul, Silas, and Timothy.

With his usual indefatigable energy, Paul sets about reasoning with them from the Scriptures. For three Sabbaths he explains and proves "that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. 'This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ'" (Acts 17:3), he affirms. But the truth always divides. There are those who hear and receive the message, accepting Jesus as Saviour and Lord, and those who are hostile. The Jews, it appears, have little status in Thessalonica. There is no one of their own in a position of authority or influence to whom they can appeal. So they are resorting to rabble rousing, stirring up the layabouts who hang around the market place in order to gain some momentum before taking their complaints about the message of Paul to the authorities. We hear echoes of Jesus before Pilate 20 years ago for they are accusing the missionaries of treason: "They are defying Caesar's degrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus," they cry (Acts 17:7). Discretion tells the three missionaries they had better leave the city. So in the middle of the night they depart, making their way 80 kilometers south to Berea.

But Thessalonica weighs heavily on Paul's mind--such promise, so much potential for the kingdom of God: the faithful Jews; those devout Greeks who have tired of the low moral life in their heathen world and have joined the Jewish community looking for a better way; the influential women who showed such enthusiasm for the gospel. Have three weeks been enough to give them the grounding that would enable them to endure?

Now in Athens, Paul is anxious for news of the Thessalonian believers. He remembers the message he delivered to them in person. John Stott summarizes it for us:

"Christ has died! Christ is risen! Christ will come again!

"It is these truths which stimulate evangelism, promote holiness, deepen fellowship, inform worship, and inspire hope. It is the gospel which shapes the church just as it is the church which spreads the gospel."

So when Timothy comes down to Athens from Berea to join him, Paul can wait no longer and he sends him back up to Thessalonica to bring information. Timothy returns and the news is good. The converts have remained constant, their love and faith are steadfast. Paul's response is spontaneous and he sends them a letter expressing his joy. But communication is a two-edged sword, and a problem arises over a simile he has used in his epistle.

In their desire to see the Lord come soon, they misinterpret Paul's words: "The Lord is coming like a thief in the night." He has said. "The Lord is coming like a thief tonight," they insist. Their cry is going out to the whole city:

The Lord is Coming!

The present has been eclipsed by an expectation so intense it has distorted reality and projected them into a future that cannot yet be realized. While expecting the Second Advent they have lost sight of life in the here and now. Living in a vacuum, they are in danger of losing quality of life in the present and they are destined for great disappointment.

Paul reaches immediately for parchment and pen. He begins another letter to Thessalonica: "Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ we ask you not to become quickly unsettled or alarmed," he writes. "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed."

There are developments to take place before the coming of the Lord. Thessalonica, like churches everywhere, must learn to live the Christian life with contentment while they wait in hope and expectation of the Lord's return. To learn this is to live in Christ, and life in Christ is abundant and full.

Paul wants the new believers to experience quality end-time living. He assures them he can see evidence of this already in their experience, and he encourages them in it. He says they have:

A Faith That is Growing

"We ought always to thank God for you, . . . and rightly so, because your faith is growing" (2 Thess 1:3).

Their firm connection to Christ is granting them freedom from the need to please or win favor in the eyes of people. Trust in God is leading them from dependence on the shifting sands of man's approbation to security and rest in His approval. Faith in the Father is leading them from self-protective pride and independence from others to a vulnerable humility before one another and dependence on the Lord.

Dependence on the Lord is leading them from worry and anxiety over the demands of daily life to carefree reliance on His sufficiency. Fretful concern and stressful thinking are giving way to confidence in Him.

Trust in God is guaranteeing quality of life in Christ while they watch and wait for His appearing.

A Love that is Increasing

"And the love every one of you has for each other is increasing" (2 Thess l:3).

Love for each other is strengthening their bond of belonging to the body of believers.

Mutual regard is imbuing them with attitudes of patience and forbearance with one another's weaknesses.

They are more ready to esteem critical words as superfluous and ill-conceived compared with the joy that comes from building up one another. Brotherly and sisterly affection is placing words of encouragement and affirmation on their lips. In their gestures they are demonstrating respect and inclusiveness of one another. Love for each other is putting deeds of kindness and mutual care into their actions

The fellowship of faith is clothing them with the garments of self sacrifice for the benefit of another. They are becoming more content to live in simplicity with just the necessities of life, so others may benefit from their surplus.

Faith and love are winning the day. Faith and love will yield them a return of high quality living so that when He comes the abundant life will have in part already begun.

But it is not always easy to sustain such high quality Christian living--not for the long haul. Sometimes faith is challenged and love thwarted. Motivation flags when the immediacy of the Lord's return is pushed out into the future by months and years of waiting time, and enthusiasm ebbs away.

They will need more than faith and love. They will also need:

A Hope that is Enduring

"Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring" (2 Thess 1:4).

Perseverance in persecution is proving the quality of their faith. When the civil authorities discriminate against them, making them wait for service and ignoring their needs, they trust in God to deliver justice. When law enforcement agencies mistreat them, abuse and physically mishandle them, they find support in one another's prayers.