First Baptist Church
August 3, 2025

      • Psalms 42.1-3ESV

      • Psalms 42.4-5ESV

      • Psalms 42.6-8ESV

      • Psalms 42.9-10ESV

      • Psalms 42.11ESV

  • Lord From Sorrows Deep I Call (Psalm 42)
  • God Leads Us Along
  • Christ The Sure And Steady Anchor

      • 1 Thessalonians 2.13ESV

  • O Great God
  • 1 Thessalonians 3:11–13 ESV
    11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

    1. Paul prayed with confidence in God’s sovereign direction. (vs 11)

    “Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you…”
    Look at the language here… to see it we have to go back to chapter 2.
    1 Thessalonians 2:17–18 ESV
    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, 18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us.

    1. Paul prayed with confidence in God’s sovereign direction. (vs 11)

    It was MY desire to come to you.
    WE wanted to come to you.
    Satan set up road blocks and made the path crooked.
    Paul is praying that God will make their path straight to Thessalonica.
    “God himself” stands in stark contrast to “Me” and “We”.
    God Himself in all His power will work His plan.
    If Satan is making every effort to stop them and its working it is ultimately because it isn’t part of God’s plan for them at the time.
    God is going to get what He wants.
    This is the same thinking as Prov.
    Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV
    5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

    1. Paul prayed with confidence in God’s sovereign direction. (vs 11)

    Paul recognized God’s sovereignty, power, and eternal plan.
    Paul is not only praying from a heart of faith but a heart of surrender.
    We need to learn to hold our plans loosely.
    We need to hold the direction of our lives loosely.
    We need to pray from a heart of
    Proverbs 16:9 ESV
    9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

    1. Paul prayed with confidence in God’s sovereign direction. (vs 11)

    God navigates us with His Word and circumstances to put us in the right place at the right time.
    God directs our hearts internally.
    God directs our way externally.
    Key Truth: Effective prayer begins with a submissive heart.

    2. Paul prayed for growth through trouble not escape from trouble. (vs 12)

    “may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for us all…”
    There is no prayer for the persecution to stop.
    Why do we so often pray for trouble to be fixed?
    James 1:2–4 ESV
    2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
    Count it all joy - sit down and count the cost - and joy is to be found in the end.
    Trouble produces steadfastness.
    When steadfastness fully grows we will be complete.
    We will be lacking nothing.
    This is a mark of maturity.
    Adversity produces maturity - that is joyful.
    Why are we so quick to pray them away?
    Romans 5:3–5 ESV
    3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
    We rejoice in our suffering…
    Because of facts not feelings.
    They grow us - endurance, character, hope
    Suffering will not let us down.
    We will not come out worse because of it…
    Our christian maturity will grow.
    REJOICE
    Why do we so many times pray for suffering to be removed?
    James 1:12 ESV
    12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
    Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trail - he will receive a crown of life.
    We could be praying them out of a reward.
    In the face of immense persecution, look how Paul prayed for them…
    1 Thessalonians 3:12 ESV
    12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you,

    2. Paul prayed for growth through trouble not escape from trouble. (vs 12)

    You who are in the middle of adversity, love others.
    When have we prayed this way when someone is it the middle of a trail?
    That they would increase and abound in love for their brothers and sisters and for the world?
    Let’s first look at these two words:
    Increase: to extend or enlarge
    Their love for others.
    We feel like we can barely keep ourselves together during trails.
    Trails are not an excuse for us to sit on the sideline.
    To sit out a ministry opportunity.
    Paul is praying not only that they will function, but grow and thrive.
    Extend their love.
    He has commended them several times.
    Abound: exceed or surpass
    Chapter 1: Paul commends their labor of love.
    Chapter 3: Timothy brought good news of their faith and love.
    He is praying for them to be abundantly productive spiritually in the middle of their persecution.
    Paul knew:

    A. Love for others protects us from isolation and bitterness.

    Romans 5:5 ESV
    5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

    A. Love for others protects us from isolation and bitterness.

    Adversity causes us to isolate ourselves.
    To focus on the problem and let it consume us.
    To cut ourselves off from others.
    Yet in the middle of adversity we still have God’s love.
    Paul says it is poured in with the idea of overflowing.
    Pouring out to others.
    Love for others take our mind off ourselves and allows us to continue to be spiritually productive.
    Friday didn’t go as planned.
    The pager forced me to care for others.

    B. Love fuels our perseverance.

    When the Thessalonians began to expand and exceed the love they already had for each other, it kept them from giving up.
    They were in it together.
    We receive benefit from others.
    We don’t want to give up for others.

    C. Love causes us to look beyond ourselves.

    Our love doesn’t stop with our church family.
    We especially look beyond ourselves when we love the unsaved people around us.
    John 4:35 ESV
    35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.
    Key Truth: God’s will is often not our escape from trouble, but growth through it.

    3. Paul prayed with eternity in mind. (vs 13)

    “so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.”
    Paul was praying with purpose.
    He knew what praying them through would accomplish.
    He knew what praying for love would bring.
    “So that” or “with the purpose of” - preparing them to stand before Christ.
    When we pray, do we we shape our prayers with an eternal outcome in mind or an earthly outcome in mind?
    Paul wanted their hearts to be “established”
    “to turn resolutely in a certain direction” “to render constant” (Sterizo)
    This is a strong theme of chapter 3
    vs 3 - we sent Timothy to establish and exhort you in the faith so you would not be moved.
    vs 8 - for now we live if you are standing fast in the Lord.
    When Paul talks about their heart he is talking about their entire being.
    Proverbs 4:23 ESV
    23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
    We also need to be reminded that the establishment of our heart is important because sinfulness naturally flows from our hearts.
    Jeremiah 17:9 ESV
    9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

    3. Paul prayed with eternity in mind. (vs 13)

    Paul uses a specific phrase: ‘Blameless in holiness”
    Blameless: how we live before others.
    Holiness: how we live before God.
    Because of our holiness we will be blameless when we stand before Christ.
    If love is growing and overflowing in our heart we will then truly love God with all our heart and love those around us (Christian and non-christian) as we love ourselves and would then be found blameless before Christ.
    Key Truth: Our deepest prayers should aim at eternal fruit, not just present relief.
    What we learned today:
    Effective prayer begins with a submissive heart.
    God’s will is often not our escape from trouble, but growth through it.
    Our deepest prayers should aim at eternal fruit, not just present relief.

      • 1 Thessalonians 3:11–13ESV

      • 1 Thessalonians 2:17–18ESV

      • Proverbs 3:5–6ESV

      • Proverbs 16:9ESV

      • James 1:2–4ESV

      • Romans 5:3–5ESV

      • James 1:12ESV

      • 1 Thessalonians 3:12ESV

      • Romans 5:5ESV

      • John 4:35ESV

      • Proverbs 4:23ESV

      • Jeremiah 17:9ESV

First Baptist Church
howardcitybaptist@gmail.com
2319374809
https://fbcohc-howard-city.faithlifesites.com
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