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Intro Announcer: If we never aspire to do more than we know and feel we can do already, then we are not living by faith. Faith means asking God to do something in us and for us and through us that we know we cannot do by ourselves.

Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. Colin, I think there are probably many listening today who would say, "Well, I feel like there is something that I have wanted to do for God in the past, maybe even someone who's saying, 'I think there's something that God maybe calling me to do today that's just beyond me. It's bigger than what I can do.'" And it sounds like you're saying, "Well, then ask God to give you what you need to step out in faith."

Colin Smith: Yeah, that's exactly right. And I think more than that, Steve, that if we wait until we feel able, competent, to do what God is calling us to do, we'll never actually get round to doing it. I often have conversations as a pastor with someone who says, "Well, I feel that God maybe calling me to do this, but I don't feel ready."

And I often say, "Well, if you wait until you feel ready, you'll never get to the point of doing it." And the whole point of serving the Lord Jesus Christ is that it is a venture of faith. He calls us out beyond our own capacity, beyond our own depth, as it were, launch out into the deep.

And when we find ourselves faced with a huge challenge, that's the time to ask, "Lord, increase my faith." I'm very struck by a question that Jesus once asked, Steve, and I think it's one of the hardest ones to answer. He asked of His disciples once, "What do you want Me to do for you?"

I've often thought about that in different situations. What would I say to Jesus if, face-to-face, He said, "Now, Colin, what do you want Me to do for you?" Well, we need to be asking of the Lord what it is that we want Him to do for us so that our faith may be strengthened and we won't spend the rest of our lives just saying, "Well, this is too hard, too big, too difficult," but rather, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."

Intro Announcer: What a great way to begin taking a look at this topic of having an urgency of firm faith. That's what today's message is called. So, if you can, grab your Bible and join us in 1 Thessalonians chapter 3. Here is Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: Suffering, great trials, great temptations will always expose the foundation of your life. Jesus told a story, you remember, about two ways in which people build their lives. And He said for some it's like building a house on rock, and for other people it's like a man who builds his house on sand, and then a storm comes, and the storm is suffering.

And when that happens, for some people the faith that they talked about so very much and so very lightly just collapses because it really has no foundation at all. And for others they stand, they stand firm because there is that solid foundation they are built upon the rock.

When you suffer, the idol of comfort is cast down. It is no longer of any use or of any relevance. And I want you to notice that when you suffer, when you face strong temptations, objective number one is simply that you should stand. It's not more than that, it's not other than that, it is that you should stand firm in the Lord when you face great trials and when you endure great temptations.

Now, I emphasize that because it seems to me sometimes from looking in my own heart and often in conversations with others that somehow we get the idea that God is looking for more than that from us when we endure trials. It comes out like this: someone's been bereaved, they're devastated, and they say, "Pastor, I know I should feel joy, but I don't feel joy."

Or someone is going through some extraordinary trauma and they say, "You know, I wish I just felt peace, perfect peace, but I don't feel perfect peace. I feel so troubled." Now, when Jesus suffered on the cross, He was not singing choruses with a smiling face, right?

In fact, when Jesus suffered on the cross, He cried out of an agony in His inner being, "Why?" But He stood firm as He suffered, and on that hangs your salvation and mine. Now, God is not asking more of you than you see in Jesus.

And Paul's joy about these believers is focused on this, that when they went through great trials and when they endured great temptations, they simply stood firm. That's the objective. That is the victory. And that is to the eternal praise and glory of God our Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

Notice the impact, by the way, of the Thessalonians standing firm. Verse 7, Paul's talking about his own trouble now. He says, "Brothers, in all our distress and persecution," the apostle and Timothy and Silas, "in all our trouble," he says, "we were encouraged about you because of your faith."

Let me speak specifically for a moment now to those of us who at this time are facing unusual trials and strong temptations. Never, never, never underestimate the significance of your standing firm in the faith in the middle of what you're going through right now.

When you face strong temptations and you stand firm, then others who know you and walk with you will be strengthened to stand firm in their temptations that they also face. And when you endure great trials and you stand firm, others who know you, love you, and watch you and walk with you, they will be strengthened and encouraged so that they will stand firm as they face great trials in their time also.

And you know, the resilience of true faith under pressure and in the face of temptation is one of the surest evidences that God has done an authentic work in your life. The trial of your faith, when it goes through the fire, Peter says, proves that your faith is genuine and it will rebound to the praise and glory of God forever and forever.

And so, Paul says in verse 9, "How can we thank God enough for you for all the joy that we have in the presence of God because of you?" To see that you would stand under this is one of the greatest blessings, one of the greatest evidences of God's work in your life.

Now, here's an application then at this point this morning. From what we're learning here, it follows that those who suffer greatly have one of the most important ministries in the church as you stand firm and by your standing firm, you strengthen others.

See, we've got this list here that's very important of ministry opportunities in the life of the church, and maybe what we should do is put at the bottom standing firm under suffering. Except I don't think we'd get anyone to sign up for that, right?

But you see, that's what some of you are doing without ever having signed up for it. It's just where you're at. A special needs child who makes incredible demands day and night and day and night and day and night and day and night.

Devastating bereavement that has torn your life apart. An illness and a pain that is endured and you endure it and you endure it, and yet you stand in the faith. You sometimes are gritting your teeth, you're not glazed over with some beatific smile, but you're standing firm as one who loves Jesus Christ and trusts Him still.

And thank God for that. You have a ministry to the rest of us and you have a ministry to the unseen angelic and demonic world that demonstrates the reality of authentic faith in Jesus Christ. Never underestimate its importance.

There are so many who live lives that are like a house built on sand, and if that was you, you would have collapsed long ago. Thank God for those who bear evidence of a faith that shows you are built on the rock, and when faith is under fire, it stands firm.

And so, I think to you, the rest of the congregation today would be saying what Paul says in verse 9, "How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we have in the presence of God because of you?" Not all the joy that you have, you have it really tough, but us seeing your faith, it's a ministry to everyone else. It really is.

And here's the last thing this morning: faith growing strong. Faith growing strong. Verse 10, and I've got to say that when I came to this verse, it really took me by surprise. "Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith."

Now, I hope you can see why that caught me by surprise. It probably catches you by surprise as well. He's just been talking about their faith standing firm and how wonderful that is. Chapter 1 and verse 8, he's been saying that all over the world people are speaking about the faith of the Thessalonians. So, why does he now suddenly come along and say that apparently there is something lacking in their faith?

Well, the answer surely is that even the strongest faith in this world is a work begun but not yet complete. Your faith needs to grow however long you've been a Christian. Our faith needs to grow however mature we are as a church.

Jesus described faith as being like a living seed, like a mustard seed, and anything living needs to be nourished and to be fed. And your faith is fed and nourished in the Word and worship and in prayer and in fellowship. It is exercised in ministry and in facing great trials and temptations, and it needs to be applied to the choices that you make in your life personally and that we make in our life together.

One of the great joys for me last month was the quality of discussion that we shared as a congregation as we talked together about the first draft of our ministry plan. And we received many good suggestions, some of which have been incorporated already. You can see that in the latest version that is on the website if you haven't picked it up already.

There were also some great questions asked, and I think one of the questions that was asked most frequently, certainly one that I heard most often, went like this: "Wow, this is great, but how are we going to do all this?"

Now, you see, that is the most marvelous question because that is precisely where we should be. If we never aspire to do more than we know and feel we can do already, then we are not living by faith. Faith means asking God to do something in us and for us and through us that we know we cannot do by ourselves.

So, let's apply what we're learning here from 1 Thessalonians to our faith. And remember that Paul is writing this letter, not to an individual, it's not like the letter to Timothy to one person, this is to a church. It's to a congregation.

This letter's the sort of letter that should be read at a congregational meeting. It's about the faith of the church. It's about the faith of the people together, and Paul sent Timothy to find out about their faith.

Now, you see, if Paul sent Timothy here to do a study of our faith and make a report back to the apostle, what do you think he'd say? Suppose Timothy was here in our services to sample the spiritual temperature? Suppose he visited the small groups to see if faith and the Word were central?

Suppose he sat in on meal times with a number of families to sample the tone of conversation to see if there is the air of confidence in God about us? Suppose he sat in on our discussions of what we hope to do in the name of Christ in relation to ministry together, and suppose he then wrote it all up and then took it back as a report to the apostle Paul, what would he say?

Would he say, "Paul, it's good news. These folks have been through some trials, Satan has tempted many, but the congregation there is standing firm in the Lord. They've learned a humility that knows that apart from God they can do nothing, but they also are marked by a faith and a confidence in God that expects Him to do great things." Would he say that?

See, I think we need to grow in that kind of faith. The faith that breaks outside of the little box of what we feel confident we can do and looks to God for that which only God can do, and together cast ourselves upon Him as we venture forward together.

You say, "How does that kind of faith grow? Where does it come from? Give me three quick steps to develop it." And you notice Paul doesn't do that. It's always interesting to notice, where does the apostle go? When he's got to this point of talking about what is lacking in your faith, where does he go from there? He goes to prayer.

See, that's the point of verses 12 and 13. He says, "May God the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other. May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be holy and blameless." See, that kind of faith is a work of God.

You can't get this kind of faith that's a solid rock foundation that enables a person to venture on God and trust Him in great trials and in the face of great temptations, you can't get that from a pastor. You can't get that from a mentor. You can't get that from a coach. You can't get it from a small group or from any program. You can't even get it from an apostle.

This kind of faith comes only from God. And Paul himself demonstrates this kind of faith when he moves into prayer and he's saying, "Lord, You do it in them. You give them what's lacking in their faith. You do it. I can't do it. I'm an apostle," he's saying, "but only You can do this. It's a sovereign work of the Spirit of God to lift the level of faith in a Christian congregation." Will you join me in asking God for that?

What a great thing it is that we can ask God to increase our faith. Personally and together. "Lord, I need You. I cannot stand without You. All the strength I can muster is a puny thing in the face of life and death and eternity. Give me Your Spirit. Fill me with Your power. Cause me to stand firm in the trials I face and the temptations that bear in on me. To stand firm in the Lord by the power of Your Spirit." You seek Him. You lay hold of Him. You ask of Him. You believe in Him. And you receive from Him. And as you do that for yourself, will you do that for us?

I've told you before, now just to close with this, some years ago I was assigned by the denomination I served in England to try and strengthen and encourage pastors and churches in a particularly hard area for the Gospel in the north of England.

Really tough. One of the hardest places for Gospel work. All of the churches were small. Pastors discouraged. And I spent two weeks a year there for some years and visited all of the churches that were part of our denomination, spent time there, tried to be useful kind of along these lines.

And there was one church that was distinctively different. Just going in and speaking and being with the people, you could hear in their singing something different. You could sense in their praying before the service, just half a dozen people, something different. You sensed in the faces and conversations with people afterwards something quite distinct.

And I got to know the leading elder very well in that church and I'll never forget saying to him on one occasion, "You know, really, of all the churches in this town, there is something distinct and different about this one. Tell me about it." This was on one of the toughest housing estates in the north of England, desperately poor area.

And he said, "This is a hopeless place to live." And he said, "The churches tend to reflect that." And he said, "Our leadership made a commitment a year ago that every Saturday night we would ask God for one thing, and that was that there would be faith in the congregation on Sunday morning.

That people would come with a sense of expectancy to meet with God, and that God would meet that expectancy." And I walked in from 300 miles away and I was one of the people on whom that faith rubbed off. That's what we want for ourselves. May God give us that kind of faith and the urgency of it.

Intro Announcer: You've been listening to Pastor Colin Smith and a message called "The Urgency of Firm Faith," which is the conclusion to our look at 1 Thessalonians chapter 3. Our series in 1 Thessalonians is called "Living Like There's No Tomorrow," and if you've missed any of the programs in the series, you can find them all on our website, openthebible.org. There you can stream the programs or download them as an MP3 for free.

Open the Bible is a listener-supported ministry, so we're able to bring you these messages each day because people like you give to support the work. If you're a regular listener and you'd like to support us today, we have a gift we'd like to send you to say thank you. It's a special set of 52 scripture cards from Open the Bible.

Each one contains a scripture verse on one side and a short commentary by Pastor Colin on the other. This is a great way to help you hide God's Word in your heart over the course of the next year. It's our gift to you when you give a gift of any amount to Open the Bible this month.

You can give online at openthebible.org or over the phone by calling 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365. For Pastor Colin Smith and the whole team here at Open the Bible, I'm Steve Hiller. Join us next time for more.

Colin Smith: Paul prays that God will cause the believers' love to increase and overflow. Where love for other believers overflows, there's a magnetism that attracts those who are on the outside. May God make that true of us. Join us for our next program as we look at how love grows strong.