The Pastor's Protectiveness Toward His People (1 Thess. 3:5)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/30/2014 9:02 AM

My Worship Time                                    Focus:  The Pastor’s Protectiveness Toward His People

Bible Reading & Meditation                                            Reference:  1 Thessalonians 3:5

            Message of the verses:  “5 For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain.”

            Paul actually repeats himself in this verse for he had written something similar in verses one and two of this chapter.  He is again saying that he could endure it no longer and has to send Timothy.  We can see the heart that Paul has for his children in the Lord from Thessalonica.  He cared deeply for them and wanted to find out how they had endured through the persecution that had come to them from both the Jews and also from Gentiles also.  I remember something that happened in the church that I attended for 32 years of which 17 of those years we had a wonderful Pastor that I truly loved in the Lord.  There was a woman in our church who was a bit past middle age and to my knowledge had never been married.  We noticed that a man now was sitting with her and eventually they got serious and were married.  We were all happy for this lady who probably though she would never get married.  A little while later they decided to leave our church and go to a church that was not associated with ours and this actually broke the heart of our Pastor because the church they went to did not actually believe in salvation alone through Jesus Christ, but also added works.  My point in all of this is that because our Pastor had a great love for this couple as he did for all those who attended there wanted to protect this couple, but the tempter tempted them and therefore they left.

            In the fairly famous teaching of Acts chapter twenty Paul told the Ephesian elders that they would soon have people attack their church from both the inside and outside and it would fall.  Paul cared for all of the churches God allowed him to start and the Ephesian church were no acceptation. He would write to the Corinthians “Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches (2 Cor. 11:28).”  I am sure that when Paul was growing up and studying to be a Pharisee that he would have no idea how God would use him.

            John MacArthur writes the following on how Satan might have tempted this church:  “To do that, the devil uses three basic approaches.  His first assault is to prevent people from believing:  ‘The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.’  (2 Cor. 4:4).  If he cannot do that , his second assault is to destroy someone’s initial interest in the gospel:  ‘The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word immediately he falls away’ (Matt. 13:20-21).  Finally, if he cannot stop them from embracing the gospel, Satan strives to weaken the faith of those who do believe:  ‘but I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ’ (2 Cor. 11:3; cf. 1 Cor. 7:5; 2 Cor. 2:11; 3:14-15; James 1:12-18; 1 Peter 5:8).”

            Paul sent Timothy to the church at Thessalonica to find out if their teaching had been in vain, and this word means empty, void, pointless, or for nothing.”  As we continue to study this chapter we will see that this church did not fall to the temptations that Satan was trying to give them.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful to the Lord for leading my wife and I to a church that has a pastor who is loving and who also is protective of those he is ministering too.  Our pastor is a very emotional person who will cry easily, especially when someone has just gotten saved or someone has a great testimony, and for this I am thankful to the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will give us safety in our travels as our vacation is not over and it is time to go back home.  We have seventeen hours of travel to accomplish in the next two days and the weather is not suppose to be that great as we travel home.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Her brother” (Gen. 24:29).

Today’s Bible question:  “What was the sin of Ananias and Sapphira?”

Answer in our next SD.

4/30/2014 9:45 AM