Introduction: We are studying the Book of 1 Thessalonians right now. And our series is entitled “Kingdom Called.” So, let me invite you now to open your Bibles and turn to the passage that was just read, namely 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5.

One of the things that I want to do with this series is anchor your imagination in the actual history of the text. We know that the Bible is written to all of us. It is universally applicable in that way. But each of the 66 books of the Bible has a specific context, an original audience, that the author is addressing. And that is especially clear in the Book of 1 Thessalonians. Before Paul wrote this book, he travelled to Thessalonica. He spent time directly with the people of the church in Thessalonica. He planted that church. He knew those people. And Paul was driven out of the city, because of satanic opposition towards him and his message. We read all about that in Acts 17, a few weeks ago. That really happened! That’s the historical context of this book! 

And so, my job as a preacher is to analyze that original, historical context. I need to explain it so that our imaginations are locked in to what Paul and his friends experienced 2000 years ago. But I can’t stop there. I also need to walk us through a process of extrapolation. Because 1 Thessalonians isn’t just written by Paul; it’s co-authored by the Holy Spirit. And it wasn’t written just to the Thessalonians; it’s also written for us. There’s a meaning for our lives that can be gleaned for our spiritual growth and development. 

And so every time I preach a passage of Scripture, I try to answer the “so what?” question. Paul was opposed in Thessalonica according to 1 Thessalonians 2 and 3. Satan opposed him! So what? How does that impact our lives? What valuable life principles can we extrapolate from what Paul writes here? 

Well I’m going to walk you through that this morning. And from my vantage point, the overarching message that Paul communicates in this passage is that sometimes Satan scores a victory in our lives. Satan got the best of the Apostle Paul 2,000 years ago, and sometimes he gets the best of us with his schemes and his opposition. And that can be extremely discombobulating for the follower of Christ. 

And Paul makes no bones about that here. Paul was discombobulated by what happened to him in Macedonia. This passage is very biographical here; more biographical than most of what Paul writes elsewhere. He communicates the depths of his struggle. He allows us to peer into his emotionally frazzled psyche. And he states very matter-of-factly at one point: “Satan stopped me.” “Satan has scored a victory in my ministry.” “I wanted to visit you,” says Paul, “but Satan hindered me.” 

And so here’s my question for you, church. Here’s how Paul’s experience answers the “so what?” question in our lives. “What do we do when Satan scores a victory in our lives? What do you do when Satan is seemingly winning in your life?” “How do you respond? How do you press on in the midst of that trial?” That’s the issue, and that’s the question I want to address in this message today.

And let’s start here. Go ahead and write this down as #1 in your notes. What do you do when Satan scores a victory? How do we respond as followers of Christ? Here’s the first answer to that…

When Satan scores a momentary victory, 

1) You cling to your future hope (2:17-20) 

“Pastor Tony, my kids aren’t walking with the LORD! What do I do with that?” “Pastor Tony, my coworkers are dismissive of me, probably because I’m a card-carrying Christian. What do I do?” “Pastor Tony, I’ve got a sin problem that keeps cropping up in my life. I try to suppress it. I try to put those deeds of the flesh to death, but they keep getting resurrected. It’s like a horror movie; they keep coming back from the dead!” “What do I do?” 

Well there’s a lot of things that you can do. But one thing you can’t ever stop doing… one thing you’ve got to keep doing, no matter how bad this life gets, or how bad the struggle is… You do this—you cling to your future hope! Christ Jesus is coming back! And there’s nothing in this life that is so bad or so discouraging that Christ’s return can’t alleviate it. There’s no trial in this life that can’t be overcome by the truth that Christ is coming back. 

Let’s look at what Paul says here. Look at verse 17.

17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 

The Greek word translated “torn away” here is the word ἀπορφανίζω (aporphanizō). We derive our English word “orphan” from this Greek word. So that should give you an idea of how traumatic and heart-breaking Paul’s separation from the Thessalonian church was. It was like they were orphaned after his departure. Paul said earlier, if you remember, “I was like a mother to you, nursing and nourishing you” (2:7). “I was like a father to you exhorting and encouraging you” (2:12). “Then like a little child, you were ripped out of my arms and I was separated from you.” “I was ripped away from you, but only in person. My heart is still with you, even though I can’t be with you in person.” 

If you remember, in Thessalonica, there was a riot started after the church was planted. And the riot was so serious, that they dragged that guy Jason before the city officials. And Jason and some of the other brothers had to put up security with the city officials before they were released. Shortly after that, Paul and Silas left town. All of that was recorded by Luke in the Book of Acts. And I love the Book of Acts. But that book doesn’t always convey the emotional turmoil that Paul went through as a minister of the gospel. 

Sometimes you read Acts and you’re like, “O Paul got arrested again. He got persecuted and thrown out of the city, again!” “Just another day in the life of the Apostle Paul. Another beating! Another mob of people calling for his execution!” But here, we see the emotional price that Paul paid during his ministry. “We were ripped away from you, Thessalonian Church!” “We longed to be with you, but we couldn’t.” “We [look at verse 17 again] “endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face…” 

18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. 

You might ask, “How did Satan hinder Paul? How’d that happen?” I don’t know. Some people have suggested sickness. Some have linked this with the thorn in the flesh of 2 Corinthians 12:7. Some have suggested political opposition. I actually think, and I said this a few weeks back, that part of Jason’s putting up security with the city officials involved an agreement that Paul and Silas leave town (cf. Acts 17:9). So, Paul became persona-non-grata in Thessalonica. I wouldn’t take a bullet for that theory, but I think it makes the best sense of the evidence. 

Whatever the case, there was a very real spiritual battle at work, and Paul says, “Satan won!” “He hindered us!” In fact, that word “hindered” in Greek has a military nuance. Gene Green, in his commentary on this passage says, “Stopped [Greek: ἐγκόπτω; ESV: “hindered”] is a term that comes from the military. In order to stop the advance of enemy armies, soldiers would tear up and destroy the road to hinder their passage. Warfare imagery is embedded in the metaphor, Satan himself being their adversary.” Satan, or שָׂטָן in Hebrew, means “adversary.” And not only is Satan an adversary, he’s also a hinderer. And sometimes he wins. Sometimes, underneath the auspices of God’s sovereignty, as the book of Job shows us, Satan scores a momentary victory. And I cannot emphasize that word “momentary” enough. Everyone with me?  

You know there are two mistakes that Christians make in their consideration of spiritual warfare. C.S. Lewis talks about this in the preface to his book, The Screwtape Letters. He says, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves (the devils) are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.” You know in the NT, Satan is described as actively opposing the churches at Jerusalem, Corinth, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Philadelphia, and Thessalonica. Why wouldn’t he be active in a church in San Antonio? Why wouldn’t he be actively battling against us right now? 

You might say, “Ok, Pastor Tony. I get it. So what do you do when Satan scores a momentary victory in our lives?” “How do we respond to that?” Well, Paul shows us here. He acknowledges, “Satan hindered us! Satan stopped us! He won this battle.” But notice, even as Paul says that… even as Paul acknowledges defeat, he doesn’t lose sight of our future, eternal hope. He fixes his eyes on that eternal hope. 

Look at verse 19.

19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy. 

When Satan scores a victory, what do you do? What do you do? You cling to your future hope! When Satan scores a momentary victory, what do you do, church? You cling to eternal victory!

And to that you might say, “What does eternal victory look like, Pastor Tony? What is our future hope?” Good question. Here’s three things. Write this down as 1a)

a. Jesus’ coming

What does Paul allude to here in verse 19? 

19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? 

Jesus’s return! Jesus’s second coming! Admittedly, he doesn’t speak of this directly, but indirectly. But it’s here. And by the way, Paul will speak of Jesus’s coming more directly and more expansively in the pages that follow. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for that. 

But just to be clear, church, Christ is coming back. He’s coming back for us. That’s what we fix our minds on when Satan scores a victory! Here’s our future hope according to Revelation 21. In his vision of the future, the Apostle John writes, “the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (21:3-4). So just to be clear—no more pain! No more sorrow! No more curse! No more conflict! No more tears! No more death! No more sin! No more fear! No more trials! No more hunger! No more war! No more sexual exploitation! No more injustice or “#metoo statements”! No more suicide bombers! No more atrocities! No more out-of-control dictators like Kim Jong-un or Vladimir Putin. No more victories for Satan!

And that’s the thing about Jesus’s Kingdom. We talked about this last week. We are called to represent Christ and his Kingdom. We are called to represent him as his ambassadors in this present world. But his Kingdom is already/not-yet. It’s inaugurated, but it’s not consummated. We still have to contend with the Prince of the Power of the Air (Eph 2:2). And he, Satan, still exercises a vast amount of power and influence in our world. It wouldn’t take long for me to convince you of that. 

And so, when Satan scores his victories, you need to keep your eyes on the finale. You need to keep your eyes fixed on Christ’s coming. That’s the best way to keep yourself from getting sucked into the wormhole of discouragement and depression and defeatism.        

Here’s another aspect of our future hope. Paul makes reference to…

b. The crown of boasting 

19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?

The word for “crown” here is the Greek word στέφανος. It’s what was awarded to Olympic athletes after they won a race. It was a “laurel wreath” or a “festive garland” made of pine leaves or oak leaves or wild-olive leaves. And the στέφανος was different from a diadem. It wasn’t made of precious medals. It was made of perishable materials. That’s why Paul tells us to run the race called life so that you may receive, not a perishable wreath like an athlete, but an imperishable one (1 Cor 9:24-25). 

And Paul says here that his crown, his imperishable wreath, if you will, was the church. “What is our crown of boasting?” says Paul! “Is it not you?” It’s the work that he’s done on behalf of people in the church. 

Listen here’s why this is important. Everyone listening? The work that you offer on behalf of Christ is your crown, Verse By Verse Fellowship. Your “work” on behalf of Christ is eternally rewarded by the Lord Jesus. That is your “wreath”! That is your “crown of boasting.” Every time you serve Christ in the nursery… every time you greet someone at church on our “Connection Team”… every time you encourage another believer with your gift of encouragement… every time you lead someone to Christ…that is your crown! 

Every time you lead a small group… every time you take a meal to someone in the church... every time you organize a spreadsheet for the body of Christ or teach in Children’s Ministry or Youth Ministry… that is your crown! We’re making disciples here. We’re living with eyes for eternity. And some of that work involves teaching and instructing as part of discipleship. Some of that work is more behind the scenes so that teaching and instruction can happen here. What’s your role in that? 

So, if Satan scores a victory in your life, in the life of our church, what do you do? Keep working! Keep serving Christ. Don’t quit. Keep your eye on the prize. Run the race with endurance so that you may receive the imperishable crown.  

And also, here’s a third aspect of our future hope. Write this down as 1c. There’s… 

c. Eternity with God’s people 

Paul says in verse 20.

20 For you are our glory and joy. 

Paul says, “You are my pride and joy, church!” Paul says, “You are what I will celebrate at Christ’s return.” Paul sees the church of Jesus Christ as glorious. And Paul sees his work among the people of God as his greatest joy and his most glorious accomplishment. It’s his life’s work! The church! 

You might say, “That’s crazy.” “Paul’s crazy. Why would he be so obsessed about the church? Why would he think so highly of them?” No listen. Paul’s not hyperbolizing here. He’s actually thinking practically. Paul’s not just gushing sentimentalism or emotionalism here. There’s a method to this madness. There’s good stewardship here. 

I’ll prove it to you. Here, think about this. What is the only institution in the world that will continue on into eternity? Do you know? Is it the U.S. Government? Is it a multi-billion-dollar corporation? I heard a few years ago that “Apple” became the first publicly traded U.S. Company to reach $1 trillion. $1 trillion! 

Now it’s worth almost $3 trillion. And there are five American companies that are worth more than a $1 trillion: 1) Apple, 2) Microsoft, 3) Google, 4) Amazon, and 5) Tesla. But do you know which of these companies are going to enter into eternity? The answer is none of them. The church is the only institution that will enter into eternity. Apple won’t. Tesla won’t. Amazon won’t. Neither will the U.S. Government. Neither will any parachurch institution.  

I read recently that Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, is now the richest man in the world, worth over $200 billion dollars. He’s $40 billion richer than Jeff Bezos! You know how much money Elon Musk is going to carry into eternity? The correct answer is $0 billon. 

So, Paul’s investment in the church, it’s not just sentimental. It’s practical. It’s the wise thing to invest in. So, let me ask you a question, Verse by Verse Fellowship. What are your investments? What are you glorying in? Where’s your hope? Where’s your joy? What’s your crown? Put your hope in that which is eternal! Put your effort into that which lasts forever! Put your investment in that which enters on into eternity. 

What did Jesus say about this? Do you remember? He said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:19-21). Paul knows where to put his efforts! Even when Satan scores a victory, Paul’s not backing off of his eternal investment! 

So, when Satan scores a victory, you need to cling to your future hope. You need to fix your eyes on Jesus’s coming and on the crown of boasting and on eternity with God’s people. 

And to that, you might say, “Ok, Pastor Tony, is that it? Should we just acquiesce when Satan wins? Should we just be so heavenly-minded, we’re of no earthly good?” No! That’s not all. Write this down as #2.

When Satan scores a victory, 

2) You regroup (3:1-5) 

The church father, John Chrysostom said, “[W]hen you are about to perform any duty for God, expect manifold dangers, punishments, deaths. Don’t be surprised or disturbed if such things happen… For surely no one choosing to fight, expects to carry off the crown without wounds! And you, therefore, who have decided to wage full combat with the devil, don’t think to pursue such a life without danger, expecting luxury instead! … Although you see the devil thwarting you ten thousand times, never fall back!” 

Don’t be surprised when Satan opposes you in your pursuit of Christ, church. And don’t let satanic opposition cause you to quit or back down. Instead you regroup. You reorganize. You redeploy. You redouble your efforts. And you live to fight another day. 

Here’s how Paul regroups… look at chapter 3, verse 1.

1 Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, 

If you follow Paul’s travels [on the map] in the Book of Acts, Paul and his posse left Thessalonica and then went to Berea. And after that, Paul went to Athens, probably leaving Silas in Berea. And it was in Athens, where Paul was troubled by that huge number of idols in the city. And that’s where he preached Christ to those Epicurean and Stoic philosophers at Mars Hill (Acts 17:16-34). This was all part of Paul’s Second Missionary Journey. 

And after Athens, Paul went down to Corinth (Acts 18:1ff.), where he spent eighteen months. It was probably during that time in Corinth that Paul wrote this book of 1 Thessalonians. But Paul harks back to his time in Athens and says, “it was when we were there, in Athens” that verse 2,   

2 … we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, 

So, Paul is persona-non-grata in Thessalonica. Probably Silas is too. They can’t go back there. So, Paul decides, “Let’s try a different strategy. Let’s send young Timothy to town as our representative.” This is like apostolic espionage here. They sent Timothy into town clandestinely to check on the church and bring back a report. 

And notice how Paul describes Timothy. This is great here. Look at verse 2. Timothy is “our brother” and “God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ.” That’s the best way to read this in the Greek. Timothy is referred to as God’s coworker (Greek: συνεργός)? That’s high praise right there! I aspire to that. Of course, it’s ultimately God’s work and God gets all the praise. But think about it for a moment, God actually uses us as “coworkers in the gospel.” 

You know, I love my coworkers here at VBVF. I love working with our elders and the other staff here at church. But, I hope you don’t mind me saying this, God is my favorite coworker. What a great way to think about our work as ambassadors for Christ. We’re not just ambassadors. We’re not just representatives of King Jesus; we are God’s coworkers. 

To do what? What was Timothy’s job as God’s coworker in Thessalonica? What was he sent to do? Look at verse 2.    

to establish and exhort you in your faith,3 that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 

The Thessalonians are getting persecuted. The Thessalonians are experiencing afflictions. The Gentiles don’t like them. The Jews don’t like them. Maybe they are being physically mistreated? We’ve seen that before in the NT. Maybe they are being ostracized by the community? Maybe they are being punished and belittled in their workplaces? Maybe they are being politically disenfranchised? And Paul sends Timothy to strengthen and encourage them. 

Keep in mind what I said a few weeks ago. Paul didn’t promise them that everything would be hunky-dory if they followed Jesus. He prepared them for these afflictions. That is reinforced here. Look at verse 4. 

4 For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know.

Paul didn’t tell them, “If you vote for Jesus all your wildest dreams will come true.” Paul didn’t promise them a life of ease and comfort and unremitting prosperity. Christians should never be promised that. In fact, it’s shameful that in our day Christianity is being hijacked by false teachers teaching that faith in Christ leads to safe, comfortable, easy living. 

When Paul preached the gospel to the Thessalonians he let them know, “This is not going to be easy, following Jesus. They persecuted Jesus. They’ll persecute you. Jesus dealt with agony and deep affliction, and you will too.” And you need to be ready to take it. Take it like a champ. Take it like a boxer takes blows in the ring. 

And aren’t you glad that the Bible didn’t promise us a life of ease and prosperity if we followed Jesus? Aren’t you glad that God was truthful with us in this? I mean, what’s the best course of action for somebody: 1) Tell them the truth and prepare them adequately for what’s about to happen or 2) Hide it from them or pretend like it’s no big deal? Which would you rather have? I’d rather have the truth. Let me say it this way, “A massive hurricane is bearing down on you. Or a tornado is about to sweep through San Antonio, and it’s going to destroy everything in its path. And so, you need to go now and fortify your home!” Would you rather know that ahead of time or just live in ignorance?

To that you might say, “Ignorance is bliss, Pastor Tony.” No, it’s not! Ignorance is Ignorance. I’d rather know the truth. Don’t coddle me. Don’t hide the hard facts. Just tell me the truth. And that’s what Paul did in Thessalonica. He told them the truth: “You’re going to suffer for your faith in Christ.” “Your faith in Christ is going to cost you something.” “Yes, salvation is free. But it’s not cheap. There’s a cost associated with following Jesus.”

Paul tells them the truth. But he’s not uncaring or cold and calculated about it. We know that based upon what he’s said already. Remember verse 8 from last week, “So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.” Paul is painfully truthful with them. But he also loves them dearly. 

And as further evidence of that, look at verse 5. 

5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain. 

I hope you forgive me for saying this, but in some ways, I think you’ve got to be a pastor to truly understand verse 5, or at least an elder in a church. Because a pastor, and an elder too, sometimes loses sleep over the state of his flock. A pastor will sometimes anguish over the state of the church and whether or not his labor will be negated by the schemes of the enemy. 

For those of you who have kids, especially grown kids, you probably have an idea what Paul is talking about here. 

I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain. 

If you are a parent, especially a parent of grown kids, you have some idea of what this fear looks like. I heard a pastor say once that as a parent, you are very seldom happier than your worse-off kid. If you’ve got five kids, and four of them are doing great, but one of them is struggling, then you are struggling too. I don’t know that to be true experientially. But I believe it. I’ve seen it. 

And what’s Paul worried about in verse 5? What does he confess to the Thessalonians? I was afraid! I sent Timothy… to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.

Paul’s afraid that the believers in Thessalonica that he preached the gospel to… Paul’s afraid that Satan has shipwrecked their faith. Here’s another way to say that: Paul’s afraid that these “believers” were really “false believers.” That they were false converts. That they were frauds and fakes—like the seed that gets choked out in Jesus’s parable. 

Remember Jesus’s parable of the soils? Remember the rocky soil. “As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away” (Matt 13:20-21). Paul says similarly here, “I was afraid that the tempter had tempted you. Satan stopped me. He chased me out of town. He scored one for the enemy. And I was afraid that he did more than that. I was afraid he scored another victory by shipwrecking your faith!” 

So, in Paul’s concern for the church, he does what any good pastor would do… he does what any good parent would do… he sends out a spy to spy on them! No, he sends a trusted coworker, Timothy, to encourage them and strengthen them. Satan scores a victory and blocks Paul. Paul regroups. He tries a different strategy. And he sends Timothy as his emissary to the church. 

And to that you might say, “Well what happened next? What did Timothy say?” “How’d it turn out?” “Did Satan stop Timothy too?” “What happened to the church? Did Satan get the best of them? Did they abandon their faith? Was Paul right to be fearful about the tempter?” “What happened?” “What happened to the church in Thessalonica?” 

Well, come back next week and I’ll tell you. Actually, Paul will tell us in 1 Thessalonians 3:6 and following. 

But let me close with this. I don’t always know why God allows Satan to do the things that he does in our lives. There are only a few times in Scripture where we get to peak behind the curtain and see what both Satan and God are up to. The Book of Job in the OT is the best example of that. God allows Satan to inflict great suffering on Job. And it feels confusing and unjust and meaningless to Job. But it’s all part of God’s greater purpose. And God uses it to bring about something good.

And I think there’s another example of that here. You might say, “Why did God allow Satan to block Paul from coming to Thessalonica?” “They needed Paul. Paul loves them, and they love Paul. And he wants to encourage them and support them and strengthen them to fight the good fight of faith.” “Why would God allow Satan to hinder that?” 

Well here’s at least one good reason why God allowed this, among others. One commentator I read this last week said this. He said, “If God hadn’t allowed Satan to block Paul, then Paul would never have written this letter to the Thessalonians from Corinth. Instead he would have just travelled there and delivered that message in person.” So according to this commentator, at least one of the reasons that God allowed this is so that Paul would write this great book of the Bible that has blessed the church for 2,000 years, and even now is blessing our church in San Antonio, Texas. Satan might have gotten a momentary victory, but God used it for a greater good.

And to that you might ask, “Why has God allowed Satan this victory in my life?” “Why has God allowed this suffering?” “Why am I going through this trial?” “Why hasn’t God answered this prayer?” I don’t know. I wish I had God’s supernatural view of how everything is worked out according to his perfect will and purpose. But I know enough to know this: There’s nothing that Satan does in this world that is outside of God’s sovereign authority or power. And I know this: “all things work together for good, for those who [love God and] are called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28). So when Satan scores a victory in your life, 1) cling to your future hope, 2) regroup… and 3) [Here’s a bonus point from Romans 8:28] trust that God is going to use that momentary victory of Satan to bring about his greater purpose. 

And what’s the best example of that? What’s the best example of Satan scoring a momentary victory, which was later used by God to accomplish something great? Well there’s no greater example of that then the cross.