WEBVTT
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In the name of Jesus.
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Amen.
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The text is the reading from First Thessalonians, chapter three.
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Paul had a good reason to worry.
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There were some new Christians in Thessolonica but what would happen
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to them?
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The ministry that he and Silas had there was measured not in years,
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not even in months, but in weeks.
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He spent three weeks, three sabbaths in the synagogue, making the case
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that the Jesus who had died and rose from the dead was in fact the
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Messiah.
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Now, the brevity of his ministry there was not the product of some
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strategy or carefully planned aggressive church planting method.
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Don't read this narrative from the Book of Acts as prescription.
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And please, please, if you are called somewhere as a church planter,
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stay longer than three weeks.
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Yes, there were some in Thessalonica, quite a few actually, who had
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believed the message.
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A little cluster of brand new baby Jesus followers.
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But there just had not been time for what you might call thorough
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adult catechesis.
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Three weeks and change.
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And then the trouble broke out.
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Some of the Jews who would not acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah
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stirred up commotion that threatened to turn into a riot.
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Paul and Silas and the new believers were publicly charged with
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agitation and sedition.
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The charges were serious, but unproven bond was posted, but they had
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to get Paul and silas out of town before things got worse.
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So that was it.
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The apostolic ministry in Thessalonica was cut short when it had
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barely begun. Life
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and the mission went on for Silas and Barnabas
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for Paul and Silas.
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First stop Berea.
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Which turned out to be a fruitful opportunity, at least until the
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troublemakers from Thessalonica came there too.
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And then Paul went off to Athens.
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More preaching to do there and then to Corinth.
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He spent a whole year and a half there.
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Lots of opportunities, more people hearing and some believing in
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Jesus, but always further and further away from Thessalonica.
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Paul didn't forget about the new Christians there, even though his
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hasty departure in the dead of night had ended his work there before
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he was ready.
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Before they were ready.
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What had happened to them?
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What had happened to their faith?
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How could they be expected to hang on with so little preparation and
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surrounded by so much opposition?
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So, yes, he was worried about them and he had good reason to worry.
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So when he just couldn't stand it anymore, he sent young Timothy back
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to Thessalonica to check on them, to encourage them.
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Affliction, trouble, constant pressure against them and against the
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Jesus in whom they had trusted.
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Had it all just proved too much for brand new Christians still so
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young in their faith?
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Of course, Paul knew that the trouble, the pressure, the voices all
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around shouting against the good news and trying to smother their
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young faith in Jesus, all of that was really no surprise, for you
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yourselves know, he writes, that we are destined for this.
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He'd even told them so in the very brief time he had with them in
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person.
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Paul knew that and you know that too, right?
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Destined for affliction.
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That may sound like a strange way of speaking, but it just means that
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this affliction is definitely the way things are laid out.
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This is the way the deck is stacked. This is the rough grain of the
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world's twisted timber.
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In other words, trouble is normal.
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And yet, even though there was plenty of trouble back in Thessalonica,
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even though their adult instruction class was, shall we say, a few
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chief parts short of a whole catechism. Even though hostile enemies
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still
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talked trash about the believers and about their Lord.
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In spite of all that, Timothy brought back good news, young gelion.
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The believers were still well, believers.
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They still trusted the Jesus Paul had preached to them.
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It's kind of a miracle, isn't it?
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So much trouble, every kind of affliction, utterly inadequate
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preparation.
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And yet, nevertheless, their faith was still alive.
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Because their Lord is alive and he is faithful.
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His gospel word is always God's great
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nevertheless, I am a sinful man, but nevertheless, God saves me
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in Christ. My situation is hopeless, but nevertheless, God's promise
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gives me hope.
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He takes care of his people in spite of every kind of trouble.
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It's been that way from the beginning of the church, and it's still
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that way.
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There are two things you can count on.
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One, as followers of Jesus, you will run into trouble.
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And two, your Lord Jesus Christ will always be with you
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through it all. You have a lot more preparation
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even if you're in your first year at seminary. Even if you've just
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been confirmed in the Lutheran church, you have a lot more preparation
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in some ways than the Thessalonians had.
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But all that excellent instruction will not spare you from your share
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of the affliction we are all destined for.
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I don't suppose many of you have been charged with treason yet, or
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imprisoned, or forced to skip town in the middle of the night.
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But don't be surprised when things get really, really tough.
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That is par for the course.
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Smooth sailing.
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Days of peace and joy in ministry being loved and appreciated and
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supported by the people you serve.
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All that happens of course it's not all doom and gloom and then you
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die in ministry.
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But you need to understand that somewhere, sometime, somebody is
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just going to be mean to you for no good reason.
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And I'm not talking about those times when you will do or say
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something dumb and you get what you deserve.
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I'm talking about the times when you're doing the right thing and
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people are still mean.
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You'll get slandered on social media, malicious rumors will get spread
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around.
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Grumpy unhappy people will make grumpy unhappy speeches in voters
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meetings.
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You'll be disrespected, you'll be insulted and so will your family.
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When that stuff happens, it doesn't mean your ministry has failed or
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it's all over.
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It means it's situation normal all fouled up in this dark and twisted
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world.
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It's what we are destined for.
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Like master, like disciple.
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And because Jesus Christ was stretched out on the cross and nailed
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there to die to save you, your life of following Jesus is cross
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shaped.
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Jesus followers like the ones in Thessalonica react in amazing ways to
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trouble like that.
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We keep trusting Jesus, the Jesus who saves us.
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We encourage each other, we pray for each other, we learn to love each
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other a little more and to love other people too.
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Yeah, that includes even the twitter trolls and the alligators who
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makes make our lives miserable.
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That's the way
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the Lord works, still speaking his great, nevertheless to sustain our
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faith, to increase our love and to make us little flashes of reflected
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holiness in a dark, unloving, unholy world.
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You yourselves know that we are destined for that. God
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Grant it for Jesus sake.
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Amen.
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And now the peace of God which passes all understanding.
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Keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
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Amen.